UFC 185's Josh Copeland was blind in one eye for weeks after last bout
Josh Copeland won't just be trying to recover this Saturday from a loss in his previous bout, he'll also be rebounding from a temporarily blinded eye. Copeland looked durable in lasting to the final bell against Ruslan Magomedov after he appeared to be badly hurt.
It turns out that Mogomedov did more than stun the American with a kick, he damaged an eye and Copeland fought the rest of the bout with just one fully functioning eye. What's more, Copeland said the damage was such that he was blinded in one eye for weeks after the contest.
"Instantly everything turned completely white," Copeland told Neil Davidson in a recent Canadian Press feature.
"I didn't want them to call the fight. So I did my best to play off it, [and say] that I could see out of it. So that way I could keep fighting and hopefully catch him."
Copeland did manage to fight back effectively with one eye, but still lost a decision. At UFC 185 in Dallas, he'll take on Jared Rosholt in his first competition since that traumatic bout.
Thankfully, he's gotten full use of both eyes back. "I was blind in that eye for a couple of a weeks," he revealed.
"You always think going in there, worst-case scenario you're going to break a bone or get knocked out or whatever. You don't really think of losing your eyesight."
In the moment, Copeland said that he never considered admitting to the referee that he couldn't see out of one eye. "I'm a fighter," he reasoned.
"It's kind of tough to take an easy way out, I guess."
There is absolutely nothing "easy" sounding about that situation. Nevertheless, Copeland doesn't regret his decision, though he is thankful that no permanent damage to his eye was sustained.
"If I was sitting here blind in my left eye right now and you asked me that question, then of course the answer's going to be yes," he concluded.
"But looking back at it now, I was definitely glad I was able to go."
