Alex Caceres still managed to make it to the final horn in his fight against Giga Chikadze at UFC Singapore on Saturday despite suffering a broken forearm in the opening round.
The veteran featherweight, who ultimately dropped a unanimous decision, revealed an x-ray showing the damage done along with details about the injury happening back in the first round. Ariel Helwani initially reported Caceres suffering the broken arm on Saturday.
“Tonight wasn’t my night,” Caceres wrote on Instagram. “I broke my forearm blocking a head kick in the first round and tried my best to win even through the pain. Hats off to Giga Chikadze for a great fight.”
Caceres also posted a photo of his x-ray, which showed the bone snapped in his forearm.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24877045/Screen_Shot_2023_08_27_at_1.30.08_PM.png "Alex Caceres reveals he suffered a broken forearm blocking kick from Giga Chikadze at UFC Singapore 1")
Chikadze praised Caceres’ performance while adding “You’re such a warrior! Fast recovery and god bless.” He also posted a photo with Caceres at the hospital as both fighters received treatment after the fight.
The fight served as Chikadze’s return to action for the first time in 18 months but he got back to vintage form in a hurry as he blitzed Caceres with a barrage of nasty striking combinations over the course of the three round fight.
Chikadze prides himself on his kicks, which he was throwing early and often in the fight and that obviously led to the injury suffered by Caceres in the first round.
Through it all, Caceres still managed to tough it out for 15 minutes but the result still didn’t go his way with Chikadze getting the nod on the judges’ scorecards. The loss put an end to Caceres’ two fight win streak, which included victories over Daniel Pineda and Julian Erosa.
It’s unclear at this time how long the broken forearm will keep him out of action. Ex-UFC fighter Paige VanZant endured a similar injury that required her to undergo surgery but it remains to be seen what the healing process will entail for Caceres.
As for Chikadze, he got back in the win column following a loss to Calvin Kattar in his previous outing, which served as his first defeat since joining the UFC roster.
