LAS VEGAS — Pedro Munhoz suffered a right corneal abrasion from an accidental eye poke by Sean O’Malley at UFC 276 on Saturday night, Munhoz told ESPN on Sunday.
Munhoz said he was taken to the hospital after the fight, which ended in a no-contest in the second round when he could not continue because of the eye poke. Munhoz said his eye was swollen, he could not open it and he had to be given several medications to treat it.
He also released a video on Instagram in his native Portuguese explaining the situation. Translated, Munhoz said he suffered a second eye poke in the second round and “couldn’t see for 20 minutes.”
UFC executive Reed Harris tweeted Sunday morning that he saw Munhoz at the fighter hotel and that his eye was “swollen shut.”
After the fight, O’Malley said he felt like Munhoz was looking for a way out of the bantamweight bout and could have continued. But Munhoz had won the first round on two of the three judges’ scorecards.
O’Malley is considered one of the rising stars in the UFC bantamweight division, and Munhoz, a sturdy veteran and perennial contender, was billed as his toughest test to date.