Boston Salmon suffers broken orbital, cheek bone from illegal knee at LFA 84

Boston Salmon’s shocking fight ending earlier this month had big consequences on his health.

The former UFC fighter took a blatant illegal knee to the head in an 150-pound catchweight bout against Shawn West at LFA 84 on July 10. The illegal knee knocked Salmon (7-3) out cold at the 0:53 mark of Round 2, and a disqualification win was awarded to the 29-year-old. The video of the illegal knee became a big topic in combat sports news.

The Hawaiian suffered a broken orbital and cheek bone, according to his manager Brian Butler of SuckerPunch Entertainment, who on Tuesday released a statement on the incident. Butler, who attached a gruesome image to his statement, said Salmon is still recovering from the injuries.

Butler also called for the commission overseeing the event in South Dakota to take disciplinary action on West beyond the disqualification defeat in hopes to set higher accountability for similar illegal actions (via Instagram):

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UPDATE: The incident that took place in LFA on July 10th was extremely unfortunate. We believe Boston is a special talent and is able to compete with the best in the world. His stent in the UFC did not go as planned because it was determined by physicians that the weight cut to bantamweight was too extreme for him to be able to perform to his ability. We were extremely excited to restart Boston’s run at featherweight with @lfafighting and get him back to a big show. Boston was in control of this fight and just settling into his range and timing in the 2nd round when both he and his opponent, Shawn West, landed simultaneous hooks causing both to be flashed and knocked down. As Boston was getting back to his feet he was hit with an illegal knee that ended the night. What we have to focus on here first and foremost is Boston‘s health. The knee landed with incredible force and caused Boston to suffer a broken orbital and cheek bone. Aside from the DQ we feel there should be disciplinary actions enforced by the commision to set a higher precedence on these types of fouls. There was no question about the legality of the knee and Boston was awarded the win at the end of the contest. It goes without saying that this is not the way Boston wanted the fight to be determined. As a team we are sitting down with Boston and his family to discuss what we want to do moving forward. Boston would like to thank LFA and their staff for getting him back on stage and giving him the opportunity to perform. For now Boston is going to undergo further examination and we will determine the next steps as we go. #bossteam

A post shared by Brian Butler-Au (@suckerpunchent) on Jul 21, 2020 at 12:37pm PDT

“UPDATE: The incident that took place in LFA on July 10th was extremely unfortunate. We believe Boston is a special talent and is able to compete with the best in the world. His stent in the UFC did not go as planned because it was determined by physicians that the weight cut to bantamweight was too extreme for him to be able to perform to his ability. We were extremely excited to restart Boston’s run at featherweight with @lfafighting and get him back to a big show. Boston was in control of this fight and just settling into his range and timing in the 2nd round when both he and his opponent, Shawn West, landed simultaneous hooks causing both to be flashed and knocked down. As Boston was getting back to his feet he was hit with an illegal knee that ended the night. What we have to focus on here first and foremost is Boston‘s health. The knee landed with incredible force and caused Boston to suffer a broken orbital and cheek bone. Aside from the DQ we feel there should be disciplinary actions enforced by the commision to set a higher precedence on these types of fouls. There was no question about the legality of the knee and Boston was awarded the win at the end of the contest. It goes without saying that this is not the way Boston wanted the fight to be determined. As a team we are sitting down with Boston and his family to discuss what we want to do moving forward. Boston would like to thank LFA and their staff for getting him back on stage and giving him the opportunity to perform. For now Boston is going to undergo further examination and we will determine the next steps as we go.”

West, for his part, did offer an apology to Salmon and his team in the aftermath of the brutal foul. He claimed responsibility for his actions, as well.

Salmon will go further examination in his road to recovery and later asses his next career move. Prior to the LFA bout, Salmon was on a two-fight skid which marked the entirety of his UFC tenure. Salmon entered the UFC in 2017 after winning a contract at Dana White’s Contender Series.

Salmon released a statement of his own shortly thereafter. He thanked his supporters and reiterated he’s taking the proper precautions with his recovery (via Instagram):

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First, thank you to everyone who took the time to reach out to me and the ones close to me concerning my health. Just wanted to let you all know that I’m ok and taking the necessary time to heal up and focus on my health most importantly. A lot of you were scared and concerned, and so was I. I can assure you that I’m ok and will be back from this. Smile, be happy, tell the ones you care about you love them. Sending positive vibes to everyone who supports this journey. You’re #BOSSTEAM #Repost @suckerpunchent (@get_repost) ・・・ UPDATE: The incident that took place in LFA on July 10th was extremely unfortunate. We believe Boston is a special talent and is able to compete with the best in the world. His stent in the UFC did not go as planned because it was determined by physicians that the weight cut to bantamweight was too extreme for him to be able to perform to his ability. We were extremely excited to restart Boston’s run at featherweight with @lfafighting and get him back to a big show. Boston was in control of this fight and just settling into his range and timing in the 2nd round when both he and his opponent, Shawn West, landed simultaneous hooks causing both to be flashed and knocked down. As Boston was getting back to his feet he was hit with an illegal knee that ended the night. What we have to focus on here first and foremost is Boston‘s health. The knee landed with incredible force and caused Boston to suffer a broken orbital and cheek bone. Aside from the DQ we feel there should be disciplinary actions enforced by the commision to set a higher precedence on these types of fouls. There was no question about the legality of the knee and Boston was awarded the win at the end of the contest. It goes without saying that this is not the way Boston wanted the fight to be determined. As a team we are sitting down with Boston and his family to discuss what we want to do moving forward. Boston would like to thank LFA and their staff for getting him back on stage and giving him the opportunity to perform. For now Boston is going to undergo further examination and we will determine the next steps as we go. #bossteam

A post shared by Boston “Boom Boom” Salmon (@bostonboomboom) on Jul 21, 2020 at 1:49pm PDT

First, thank you to everyone who took the time to reach out to me and the ones close to me concerning my health. Just wanted to let you all know that I’m ok and taking the necessary time to heal up and focus on my health most importantly.

A lot of you were scared and concerned, and so was I. I can assure you that I’m ok and will be back from this. Smile, be happy, tell the ones you care about you love them. Sending positive vibes to everyone who supports this journey. You’re #BOSSTEAM

Watch video of Salmon’s DQ win against West below (via Instagram):

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The most devastating illegal strike in MMA history? Boston Salmon got the DQ win over Shawn West #LFA84 (via @ufcfightpass, @lfafighting) • FULL STORY IN BIO

A post shared by MMA Junkie (@mmajunkiedotcom) on Jul 11, 2020 at 2:33am PDT