Fighter Mark Martin was rushed to the hospital following the end of round one of his PFL fight against Dilano Taylor. The two fought as a part of PFL’s new challenger series.
PFL challenger series is a Dana White’s Contender Series type competition with the athletes gunning for a PFL contract. PFL contracts aren’t particularly lucrative – however a spot in the regular season is considering there is a $1 million prize at the end of the bracket. Concept of the 2022 Challenger is that a single fighter from each division each weeks earns a contract.
Martin was 7-1 coming into the fight. Previously he fought on LFA and Combate Global cards among others. He is 28 years old.
Dilano Taylor comes from Titan FC and had an identical record coming in to the fight. During the fight Taylor delivered roughly 4 consecutive strikes to the eye of Martin likely smashing his orbital bone.
Awesome 1st round so far!#PFLonFuboTV LIVE NOW
?? https://t.co/R67yD8VVFQ
? https://t.co/StPf5kcxnW pic.twitter.com/NICDeRz0rX— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 26, 2022
Looks like Martin’s orbital bone collapsed with this blow pic.twitter.com/9SDZQsPhg5
— calfkicker (@calfkickercom) February 26, 2022
The cageside doctor waves off the fight inbetween rounds. Dilano Taylor gets the W!#PFLonFuboTV LIVE NOW
?? https://t.co/R67yD8VVFQ
? https://t.co/StPf5kcxnW pic.twitter.com/eKZ6bmEoFS— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 26, 2022
Martin was rushed to the hospital as soon as the fight was called. PFL went on to wish him a speedy recovery. Many fans worry that his eye might be permanently compromised.
Hoping for a speedy recovery for @ShowtimeMartin1! ??#PFLonFuboTV pic.twitter.com/XcVmXfdae8
— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 26, 2022