Jared Gordon is a gnarly dude.<\/p>\n
This past weekend, Gordon faced Rafa Garcia in the feature bout of Noche UFC, where he got finished in the third round. Even before the stoppage, Gordon did not appear to be himself, and after the fight it came out that Gordon following weigh-ins, Gordon was hit by a car, spraining his MCL<\/a>. It was a shocking announcement and one that Gordon had hopes to keep under wraps.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing to ceremonial weigh-ins, I was like, \u2018F*ck, bro. I\u2019m limping.\u2019 I was limping,\u201d Gordon told Full Send MMA<\/a>. \u201cI can\u2019t go on stage limping. So I have to just bite my teeth and pretend like I wasn\u2019t hurt. \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t need them to intervene and tell me that I shouldn\u2019t fight. I wasn\u2019t going to say anything because then it just looks like you\u2019re making excuses, but Belal Tweeted it, and what am I going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, once the news broke, fans immediately questioned why Gordon would compete while compromised. The old adage is that no fighter enters a fight healthy, but getting hit by a car 24 hours before a fight is a bit extreme. But Gordon, coming of a knockout win over Thiago Moises earlier this year, had a lot of incentive to stay on the card.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a fighter, going into the fight I had good momentum,\u201d Gordon explained. \u201cI just got a new contract, just had a knockout win over a great fighter. I\u2019m going into UFC Noche, I\u2019m fighting on the main card, tough opponent, Rafa Garcia, I felt like I knew I was better than him. This is a great opportunity. I can\u2019t let this one go. I don\u2019t want to let the UFC down, I don\u2019t want to let the fans down. I\u2019ve got 30 people f*cking texting me. My dad, my brother, all my close friends. It wasn\u2019t about the money.<\/p>\n \u201cI make an income outside of fighting. I don\u2019t have to f*cking fight. Looking at the comments, people are like, \u2018Oh, these f*cking broke fighters, they shouldn\u2019t be \u2014\u2019 mostly bettors, guys that are losing money on bets. I\u2019m getting DMs, \u2018You should tell people when you\u2019re injured so we don\u2019t bet on you.\u2019 F*ck, you think I give a f*ck about you and your bets, you f*cking degenerate f*cking loser.\u201d<\/p>\n And there was another reason as well: reliability. Getting premium position on a high-profile card like Noche UFC doesn\u2019t happen often, and Gordon wanted to make sure the UFC wasn\u2019t put off.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just so many things for why I wouldn\u2019t pull out of a fight,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cThe UFC, they\u2019re like, the day of weigh-ins you\u2019re going to pull out? It would be one thing if it was two months before, \u2018Oh, I got hit by a car, I hurt my knee, I\u2019ve got to f*cking pull out.\u2019 Understandable. They have time to find a replacement. But to weigh-in and then be like, \u2018Yo, I\u2019m pulling out.\u2019 It just looks bad on you. And I don\u2019t know, you get shelved or you\u2019re looked at like you\u2019re not reliable.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018The day of weigh-ins you\u2019re pulling out? Why? We put you on a main card, big card, big spotlight, and you\u2019re pulling out? Alright, you\u2019re not trustworthy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, getting hit by a car the day before the fight would seem to be extenuating circumstances, but Gordon wasn\u2019t willing to risk it.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, and I didn\u2019t even want to test it,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to f*cking find out if they would or wouldn\u2019t [give some leniency]. And I wanted to fight. I had such a good camp and I felt so good, that I was like, \u2018I can do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Unfortunately, he could not, and his loss to Garcia dropped him to 9-7, 1 No-Contest in the UFC.<\/p>\n Mailbag. Jed Meshew sorts through the intriguing contender pictures at middleweight and featherweight<\/a>.<\/p>\n Persistent. Michael Chandler isn\u2019t giving up on<\/a> a Conor McGregor fight. And he thinks it\u2019s destined for UFC White House.<\/p>\n Move. Jake Paul vs. Tank Davis isn\u2019t happening in Atlanta<\/a>, but instead down in Miami<\/a>.<\/p>\n Help. B.J. Penn has been arrested for the fifth time<\/a> in 2025.<\/p>\n Accusations. Chris Eubank Jr. accuses Matchroom Boxing of blocking ambulance<\/a> after Conor Benn fight.<\/p>\n Wise. Artem Lobov thinks it\u2019s good his old pal McGregor has given up his presidential dreams<\/a>.<\/p>\n 86 Events. Dana White reveals which events<\/a> will be on Paramount next year.<\/p>\n Watch Damon Martin\u2019s full interview with Michael Chandler.<\/p>\n Contender Series highlights from this week.<\/p>\n Robbie Lawler talking about his rematch with Rory MacDonald.<\/p>\n Submission Radio with some of our friends.<\/p>\n SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE<\/p>\n I\u2019m fairly certain the UFC would\u2019ve given Gordon a pass for pulling out of the fight given he got hit by a freaking car!<\/p>\n Also, don\u2019t talk to fighters about losing money on them. It\u2019s among the cringiest things in the universe. \u2014 Meshew<\/p>\n If you find something you\u2019d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKLee<\/a> or @JedKMeshew<\/a> on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and like us on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n