Daron Cruickshank to get surgery; Dana White wants tougher eye-poke penalties
LAS VEGAS – UFC lightweight
Daron Cruickshank needs surgery for a tear under his eyelid after his bout with K.J. Noons ended in a no contest, according to UFC President Dana White.
“I don’t know if they have to go under (the eye) or what’s wrong with it,” White told MMAjunkie at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale, where Cruickshank and Noons met on the FOX Sports 1-televised main card. “The doctor said it doesn’t look like there was any damage to the eyeball, but he has some special equipment where he can see better, so (the doctor) is waiting to look at (Cruickshank’s) eye with that equipment.”
Soon after the result, Cruickshank (16-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) took a picture of his bloodshot left eye and posted it on
Twitter, writing that he had a torn tear duct. He also requested a rematch with Noons (13-7 MMA, 2-1 UFC).
White wasn’t opposed to that idea, but said the promotion would see how things shake out. Firstly, Cruickshank needs to recover, though White anticipated his layoff wouldn’t be that long.
“Right now, it just looks like he needs surgery to sew up the tear on the bottom half of the eyelid,” he said. “Hopefully, there’s no damage to the eye.”
The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale took place at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Before he could be asked by reporters, White already had an answer for curtailing the eyepokes that have become a frequent occurrence in the octagon over the past few years. The way to keep fighters from eyepokes in close quarters combat, he said, was to increase enforcement of the foul.
“I don’t know what to do about eyepokes other than the refs telling them to close their hands,” he said. “And there has to be harsher penalties. If you poke a guy in the eye, you lose the round, or something like that. There has to be harsher penalties. It will make guys and girls keep their hands closed.”
John McCarthy, who oversaw the lightweight bout, did warn Noons after he accidentally poked Cruickshank in the first round. He did so again in the second after another poke put Cruickshank on the mat, but by then, the damage was so great that Cruickshank could not see upward, and the cageside physician recommended the bout be stopped.
Before the unceremonious end, Noons and Cruickshank were fighting a spirited kickboxing bout. MMAjunkie scored the first frame for Cruickshank, who this year had gone 3-1 in the octagon.
Later that night, Cruickshank was diagnosed with a torn duct in his left eye, an injury that necessitated surgery. He underwent that surgery on Saturday.
