Harry Hardwick is already adjusting to his new reality where he’ll be eating through a straw for the next several weeks.
The British slugger, who scored a $100,000 Fight of the Night bonus for battle against Marwan Rahiki at UFC Vegas 114 on Saturday, left the arena in an ambulance after suffering a gruesome broken jaw during the fight. In between the second and third rounds, Hardwick told his corner that his jaw was snapped and his coaches ultimately decided to end the fight rather than risk even
further injury.
While it obviously wasn’t the result he wanted, Hardwick was still in good spirits while offering an update on his condition after the fight.
“I’m OK. My jaw is obviously f*cked,” Hardwick said in the ambulance on Instagram. “That’s all right. I like soup. I like smoothies and I like milkshakes and I like energy drinks. So all these things, I can still have.
“Life’s good. I cannot complain about my position. I have an amazing, beautiful girlfriend, good health, good family, good support network. No one needs to cry for me. I’m OK.”
Hardwick made his UFC debut on extremely short notice and fell in the first round after he got blasted with several nasty calf kicks that ended his night early.
With a full training camp to prepare this time around, Hardwick showed tremendous heart and spirit going to war with Rahiki as the featherweights hammered away at each other through two rounds. While Rahiki appeared that he was cruising towards victory, Hardwick refused to back down and put on a tremendous performance before his broken jaw ended the fight.
“I’m obviously gutted but that’s the sport I’m in,” Hardwick said. “I wanted to win but it is what it is. Hats off to Marwan. He threw the shot that broke my jaw. He did it on purpose. It’s not luck. It is what it is.”
Hardwick is now 0-2 in the UFC but after a fight like that against Rahiki, it seems almost a foregone conclusion that the promotion will bring him back for another fight once his jaw is healed.
Overall, Hardwick sports a 13-5-1 record and he’ll look for his first UFC win and 14th career victory when he’s recovered and ready to compete again.
