I was incredibly disappointed by Marcus Davis‘s loss-by-smothering against Mike “Not Quick” Swick at UFC 85 — partly because I’d been shamelessly hugging his nuts leading up to the event, and partly because his loss contributed to me having to film myself vomiting. But in a recent profile on MMA Junkie, Davis reveals that his insane weightlifting regimen led to an injury that almost sunk the fight altogether. As Davis explains:

“Three weeks before the Swick fight, I had torn the connective tissue between my triceps and my rear [deltoid]. I had Cortisone shots for that. Two days before the Swick fight, I couldn’t move my arm. So, the UFC was cool enough to send me to an orthopedic doctor in the U.K., and they did an ultrasound on my arm. I had an impingement in the front bursa sac that was like 100 times the size it was supposed to be, and then still that tear in the rear connective tissue. [The doctor] did a guided needle with the ultrasound into the bursa, and drained the bursa. And that lasted for about three-and-a-half hours, and then I couldn’t move my arm again.

“The day of the weigh-ins, [the UFC] excused me early. After I weighed in, they let me leave and brought me back [to the doctor] and checked me out. It had swollen right back up again because the needle had aggravated it.”

Davis said the UFC asked if he wanted to withdraw from the bout with Swick.

“When we were [at the doctor], there’s me, the doctor, (UFC president) Dana White and (UFC owner) Lorenzo Fertitta. And the doctor says, ‘I’m worried. I don’t think you should fight because you’re not going to be able to protect yourself.’

“Dana White looked at me and he said, ‘What do you want to do? What are you going to do?’

“I said, ‘I just flew 3,000 freaking miles to get in a fight. I’m fighting tomorrow night, regardless.’”

Okay, the usual line when it comes to this sort of thing is “nobody goes into a fight 100%”, and talking about your injuries after a loss is just crybaby bullshit. But if you have an injury that basically hobbles one of your arms, then clearly you’re not going to perform at your full potential. A fight between a two-armed Davis and Mike Swick might have gone a lot differently. Right? Or am I nuthugging again?

At any rate, Davis has learned from his training mistakes and should be in much better shape for his next bout; he’ll likely take on 7-0 Paul Kelly at UFC 89 (October 18; Birmingham, England). Yep, the half-Irish American still can’t get a match in the States to save his life. And in case you’ve forgotten, Michael Bisping will make his next Octagon appearance in Birmingham, facing off against Chris Leben in what is currently the card’s main event. You think U.K. fans might be getting a little tired of having the same fighters forced down their throats over and over again? Naaaah…