via prommanow.com
On today's Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey conference call, Scott Coker announced that Derek Brunson did not pass his medicals and thus has been removed from his scheduled bout with Ronaldo Souza. Coker did not give any details beyond saying that it was "not severe" and he "couldn't get into it."
The search is on for a new opponent for Jacare, but it's going to be interesting to see if the promotion can land anyone up to Souza's level with only a little more than a week's notice.
For Brunson, this is a disappointing setback. He had upped his professional record to 9-0 with a one sided (but lackluster) decision win over Nate James at Strikeforce Challengers 20. Despite having some technical flaws in his striking, he still has a lot of upside and many expect big things.
Then again, maybe it's not all that disappointing for Brunson fans given that he would have entered the cage as a significant underdog for the bout.
EDIT: Brunson has Tweeted the reason for the failed medical.
Ok here's the deal ... I've been fighting with contacts for 11 fights (9pro,2ams) never was an issue.Ohio won't pass my eye exam.
0 recs | 41 comments
That sucks
I always wondered if they let fighters wear contacts to fights though. Maybe he should get Lasik so that he never has to deal with this again.
av1o3 - February 21, 2012
Such a dumb rule.
Although how awesome/awful would it be if someone won by TKO (contact lens fell out)?
Paulo Filho's Psychiatrist - February 21, 2012
ya ive always wondered about this as well
i mean, i just assumed dudes that need them wear contacts in the cage, but what if you get KOS-eye from a wicked canadian jab, can’t be good to have your contact closed up in there.
fontgangsta - February 21, 2012
lasik isnt a fix. fucks you up in the future
inthepipes - February 21, 2012
I only wish I hadn't got that gosh darned laser eye surgery done
It works out great for ten years and then your eyeballs fall out
fontgangsta - February 21, 2012
really?
Do you have proof? Because I know a couple who had the procedure done years ago and they both have no issues and recommend the procedure.
OmoPlata - February 21, 2012
there's a sizeable internet community of people who had bad surgeries
or bad reactions to surgeries. All you have to do is ask Google. Of course, the people who feel that Lasik ruined their eyes are going to be a bit more vocal than people who it restored good vision to.
the people in my life that have gotten the surgery all say its the best money they ever spent on themselves.
The Lethal Haze - February 21, 2012
I did what you suggested and remembered why the internet is useless for research. Lots of misinformation on both sides and not much more. The sizeable community who’ve had bad experiences is a load. Take a closer look and you’ll see a lot of what appear to be fake reviews, b/s websites, etc. It’s pretty much a big penis-measuring contest to see who can spend more money on crap advertising….lasik doctors, or opthamologists.
OmoPlata - February 21, 2012
The internet is great for research
It’s useless for straw polls, which is what TH just used it for.
There’s a “sizable internet community” that can “prove” all sorts of crap: power lines cause cancer, microwave ovens are bad for you, astrology is a science, mania is better than BE…
paythefighters - February 21, 2012
indeed
Just saying, there are people who say they have had their eyes ruined by Lasik. I don’t think its that controversial to say.
The Lethal Haze - February 22, 2012
That's BS!
I had lasik done 13 years ago. I was 20/400 and was pretty much blind without contacts or glasses. I’ve been 20/20 since the lasik with zero problems. At the time the procedure was somewhat new and pretty expensive, but to this day that has been the best $4000I’ve ever spent.
Meathole - February 21, 2012
Everyone I know who has had Lasik says this.
The Lethal Haze - February 21, 2012
I had it done and I completely agree with this.
Baba Booey - February 22, 2012
They should let him wear sport goggles like Horace Grant. That way he wouldn’t have to worry about getting poked in the eyes, either!
crazedfan - February 21, 2012
This is the first time I've every heard of contacts being an issue
Of all the fighters in the UFC/SF you would imagine someone is fighting with them in and that not everyone has 20/20 vision.
Ricardo Arguello - February 21, 2012
I remember Tyler Stinson talking about it
He ran into the same issue and had lasik.
Rabbit915 - February 21, 2012 via mobile
This is ridiculous
He can’t be the only guy wearing contacts during his fights.
Patrick Wyman - February 21, 2012
Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming
Ohio
Cory Braiterman - February 21, 2012
I never thought
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young would be relevant to a discussion about contact lenses in MMA. Props, sir.
Patrick Wyman - February 21, 2012
Rampage
fights without his contacts and apparently has very poor eyesight. However, these guys are there to fight, not read the little letters on eye charts.
judonerd - February 21, 2012
its a game of inches
you can’t tell me having poor eyesight is not a serious disadvantage.
fontgangsta - February 21, 2012
I wouldn't be able to fight without my contacts
I can barely see faces when people walk past me. If I were fighting someone on the skill level of these guys with nothing to help… I’d get picked apart from their blurry limbs
DSAhawker - February 21, 2012
Uhhhh
Excellent vision is about more than reading letters on a chart. Something like, oh, depth perception just might be important in an MMA fight. Call me crazy.
Patrick Wyman - February 21, 2012
even at the very low level I competed
I never would have let someone try to hit me in my beloved noggin without being able to fully see it coming. Being able to see the subtle shifts in posture that indicate incoming badness is kind of essential to the whole process.
Dave Strummer - February 21, 2012
When the smallest object that’s going to be coming your way is a fist, and the longest distance it’s going to be coming from is a few feet, I can imagine you must have pretty bad vision for it to be a problem. My prescription is around -3.5 in both eyes, and I don’t think that would be a problem in an MMA fight (certainly wasn’t in BJJ, although granted there’s more distance in MMA). But who knows what kind of issues Derek Brunson has.
Simen - February 21, 2012
this
my vision is…not so good, but even without my hipstarr spex I can see okay enough in light sparring.
But I don’t know Brunson’s particular issues any better than anyone else here.
some schmuck in texas - February 21, 2012
I think that's way too simplified.
When my sight isn’t corrected (glasses or contacts) everything more than a foot in front of me is muddy. Could I “see” a fist coming at me? Sure, but I’m sure I wouldn’t pick it up as fast as I would with my full vision. Besides that, I don’t know about you, but my depth perception is garbage without correction. Not being able to correct your eyesight in a fight to me puts fighters with sub 20/20 vision at an enormous disadvantage.
Dave Strummer - February 21, 2012
Again, I’m not a professional fighter, and I don’t know how bad Brunson’s vision is, but as a general principle, I would say that vision would have to be pretty bad before it should become an issue that prevents someone from getting cleared to fight. The human eyes/brain are very, very good at picking up movement, much better than they are at resolving detail. I’m sitting here with my laptop on my lap, and when I take off my glasses I can’t read what I’m typing in the text box. But I’m pretty sure I could pick out any postural shifts that would be relevant for an MMA fight from across the room.
I agree that not being able to correct your eyesight is a disadvantage, but I’m not sure it’s so disadvantageous that the doctors should step in to protect a fighter.
Simen - February 21, 2012
I wear contacts
And I’ve tried sparring without them. It was a complete disaster, and my vision isn’t substantially worse than yours (3.75). It’s not that I couldn’t see punches and kicks coming, but I couldn’t read my opponents’ eyes and I couldn’t find the range at all for my strikes because my depth perception was completely off. All the subtle shifts in posture were invisible, too.
Patrick Wyman - February 21, 2012
Martin Arredondo - February 21, 2012
Apparently Cecil Peoples isn't allowed to wear contacts for fights either!!
@KatanaClothing - February 21, 2012
ZING!
fontgangsta - February 21, 2012
Blindfold 'em both
Li vs. Kurata in Fist of Legend style!
some schmuck in texas - February 21, 2012
http://movieclips.com/3sE5-fist-of-legend-movie-fighting-blindfolded/
some schmuck in texas - February 21, 2012
Quick!
Who’s got Keith Jardein’s number?
dude-1981 - February 21, 2012
I thought fighters do fight with them...
I’m pretty sure I’ve heard Mir does.
Also, this is a PERFECT time for Zuffa as a parent company of both UFC and SF to step up. I know they wouldn’t want to bury Jacare, but here has to be a UFC fighter that’s in limbo that they can slot in here.
ChicagoMMAFan - February 21, 2012
I remember a few years ago Karo got his contact knocked out in a fight, and he tried to call a “timeout”. Crazy thing is, it actually worked, and the ref stopped the action. I think it was Mario Yamasaki.
Baba Booey - February 22, 2012
I'm kinda glad
Zuffa-force seems to be in prospect murdering mode. They handed Larkin to Mo, OSP to Mousasi, Mein to Woodley, and Brunson to Souza.
When in reality, Mousasi and Mo, or Mo and Feijao should have been rematched….and Larkin and OSP should have fought one another.
Instead of Adlan fighting Lawler, they probably should have put him in there with Brunson…
I don’t know…SF isn’t deep in any division…but there were still some unnecessary leaps in competition being handed out.
Chris Groves - February 21, 2012
Brunson vs Jacare seemed like Larkin vs King Mo to me as well. Seeing Brunson in his last fight, he has potential for sure, but Jacare is too much, too soon, and a stylistic nightmare for him. The leaps in competition come from Strikeforce not having mid-tier level fighters in many of their weight divisions. There aren’t many Dan Miller’s, Matt Brown’s, K-Sos’s, etc. Strikeforce has lower-tier fighters, prospects, and then established fighters, but they really don’t have a mid-tier to many of their weight divisions.
chrisbboy82 - February 22, 2012
Guess Ill post it since nobody else has
This is what can happen if you fight with contact lenses, its only a minute and a half long, and includes a pretty sweet finish. Your Welcome.
http://mrfeature.com/media.php?name=8063MMA-Fighter-Gets-His-Contact-Lens-Knocked-Out-of-His-Head
KingJuave - February 21, 2012
Mousasi/Jacare at 205?
dancingChicken - February 22, 2012
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