Tony
15-08-2008, 09:29
http://mmamania.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/heathherring-ufc87.jpg
Just got off the phone with Heath “The Texas Crazy Horse” Herring. I wanted to follow up with him regarding a recent post on his Facebook page.
The post in question:
“What are fractures of the orbit? When one or more bones surrounding the eye are broken, the condition is called orbital fracture. The orbit is the bony structure around the eye. An orbital fracture usually occurs after some type of injury or a strike to the face. Depending on where the fracture is located, it can be associated with severe eye injury and damage.”
Does this imply that Herring damaged his orbital bone in his August 9 fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 87? It would seem so. It probably doesn’t help that referee Dan Miragliotta seemed to have poked Herring in the eye before the fight even started!
Here’s the story from Heath’s perspective:
“Yeah, I don’t know where all that came from. Right off the bat when I got caught with that right hand, obviously something hit my eye, but I think we’re going to be okay with it. We’ve gone and talked to several doctors, so everything is going to be okay, I think.”
So does this mean there is no orbital bone fracture? I was confused.
“Well it’s not that I fractured it. I think it’s going to repair itself, I think everything’s going to be fine. There’s nothing the doctors can do. The swelling’s already gone down a lot. I heal quick, I’m real fortunate in that regard.”
Speaking of that first punch, it clearly set the tone for the rest of the fight. From watching the fight, you’d think that punch rocked Herring enough to keep him cautious for the remainder of the fight. Perhaps it did. But it also didn’t help matters that he was blinded in his one eye from the outset — all thanks to that one punch.
He couldn’t see a thing.
“Oh sure. I mean you go into the fight and you start off right away blind. So you’re handicapping yourself right from the getgo. That’s never a good thing, of course, especially in this sport. But we went out there and got caught early on and suffered the consequences from that and then just tried to push on through the rest of the fight. Unfortunately we weren’t able to mount the best of offenses at that point. It’s a little bit difficult with only one eye … you’re favoring that side. It was a lot more difficult task than I had first anticipated.”
Having been blinded in the one eye, it wouldn’t be out of the question for a fighter to throw in the towel. After an eye poke or a cut that’s pouring blood into your eye, if you can’t see out of one eye, the ref will call the fight.
But Herring’s a warrior and decided to carry on and try to put on a good show.
“I can only go out there and fight to the best of my ability and fight with what I got at that time. It’s bad luck that night, but I tried to stay out there and put on a good show, and if he’s going to do his antics afterwards that’s up to him, I guess.”
Speaking of Brock’s post-fight antics, which seem all the rage in the blogosphere (this post alone took on 224 comments), I wanted to get Herring’s take on it:
“He’s a pro wrestler, that’s what he does, isn’t it? That’s kind of his thing. I think that’s what people were kind of expecting. I actually was kinda surprised pre-fight that he wasn’t talking a whole lotta trash. But post-fight, I’ll be honest, I really wasn’t aware of everything that went on — I was told afterwards. Guys are gonna do what they’re gonna do.”
Personally, I thought Lesnar looked like a child, or at least an idiot. But then again, I enjoy the Thiago Silva throat slit or even the Tito Ortiz cemetery burial from time to time. It wasn’t so much Lesnar’s rodeo roping as it was the pointing and laughing.
But Herring took the high road:
“Like I said, that’s all on him. I can only affect to what I’m able to do. I went out there and made a mistake and got caught early and paid the price for it and tried to rectify it the best I could at the time.”
What’s next for “The Texas Crazy Horse”?
“I don’t know, it’s not even been a week, so … The doctors were actually happy yesterday when I saw them. I have to see them in another week to see how things are going. I can see out of both eyes now fine. I’m wearing contacts in them, so everything’s fine in that respect. Just trying to get the swelling down and hopefully everything will heal up good.”
Here’s to a speedy recovery for the heavyweight. God speed.
Just got off the phone with Heath “The Texas Crazy Horse” Herring. I wanted to follow up with him regarding a recent post on his Facebook page.
The post in question:
“What are fractures of the orbit? When one or more bones surrounding the eye are broken, the condition is called orbital fracture. The orbit is the bony structure around the eye. An orbital fracture usually occurs after some type of injury or a strike to the face. Depending on where the fracture is located, it can be associated with severe eye injury and damage.”
Does this imply that Herring damaged his orbital bone in his August 9 fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 87? It would seem so. It probably doesn’t help that referee Dan Miragliotta seemed to have poked Herring in the eye before the fight even started!
Here’s the story from Heath’s perspective:
“Yeah, I don’t know where all that came from. Right off the bat when I got caught with that right hand, obviously something hit my eye, but I think we’re going to be okay with it. We’ve gone and talked to several doctors, so everything is going to be okay, I think.”
So does this mean there is no orbital bone fracture? I was confused.
“Well it’s not that I fractured it. I think it’s going to repair itself, I think everything’s going to be fine. There’s nothing the doctors can do. The swelling’s already gone down a lot. I heal quick, I’m real fortunate in that regard.”
Speaking of that first punch, it clearly set the tone for the rest of the fight. From watching the fight, you’d think that punch rocked Herring enough to keep him cautious for the remainder of the fight. Perhaps it did. But it also didn’t help matters that he was blinded in his one eye from the outset — all thanks to that one punch.
He couldn’t see a thing.
“Oh sure. I mean you go into the fight and you start off right away blind. So you’re handicapping yourself right from the getgo. That’s never a good thing, of course, especially in this sport. But we went out there and got caught early on and suffered the consequences from that and then just tried to push on through the rest of the fight. Unfortunately we weren’t able to mount the best of offenses at that point. It’s a little bit difficult with only one eye … you’re favoring that side. It was a lot more difficult task than I had first anticipated.”
Having been blinded in the one eye, it wouldn’t be out of the question for a fighter to throw in the towel. After an eye poke or a cut that’s pouring blood into your eye, if you can’t see out of one eye, the ref will call the fight.
But Herring’s a warrior and decided to carry on and try to put on a good show.
“I can only go out there and fight to the best of my ability and fight with what I got at that time. It’s bad luck that night, but I tried to stay out there and put on a good show, and if he’s going to do his antics afterwards that’s up to him, I guess.”
Speaking of Brock’s post-fight antics, which seem all the rage in the blogosphere (this post alone took on 224 comments), I wanted to get Herring’s take on it:
“He’s a pro wrestler, that’s what he does, isn’t it? That’s kind of his thing. I think that’s what people were kind of expecting. I actually was kinda surprised pre-fight that he wasn’t talking a whole lotta trash. But post-fight, I’ll be honest, I really wasn’t aware of everything that went on — I was told afterwards. Guys are gonna do what they’re gonna do.”
Personally, I thought Lesnar looked like a child, or at least an idiot. But then again, I enjoy the Thiago Silva throat slit or even the Tito Ortiz cemetery burial from time to time. It wasn’t so much Lesnar’s rodeo roping as it was the pointing and laughing.
But Herring took the high road:
“Like I said, that’s all on him. I can only affect to what I’m able to do. I went out there and made a mistake and got caught early and paid the price for it and tried to rectify it the best I could at the time.”
What’s next for “The Texas Crazy Horse”?
“I don’t know, it’s not even been a week, so … The doctors were actually happy yesterday when I saw them. I have to see them in another week to see how things are going. I can see out of both eyes now fine. I’m wearing contacts in them, so everything’s fine in that respect. Just trying to get the swelling down and hopefully everything will heal up good.”
Here’s to a speedy recovery for the heavyweight. God speed.