Picture Credit: Twitter

Picture Credit: Twitter

Kickboxing is considered a dangerous sport even among its most hardcore fanbase. Over the years, fighters have lost their arms, had leg injuries, and brain injuries, basically any body part is prone to getting hurt in kickboxing. Recently, the fans witnessed another such gruesome scene at GLORY Collision 5 in Rotterdam, where the Swiss-Congolese kickboxer Ulric Bokeme lost his front teeth during a fight against Michael Boapeah, the Ghanaian-Dutch kickboxer.

The incident happened in the first round of the middleweight bout, when Boapeah landed a punch on Bokeme's mouth that dislodged several of his teeth. The 32-year-old fighter immediately turned away and signalled to the referee that something was wrong, then spat out his mouthguard, along with his teeth, which fell on the canvas.

The referee stopped the fight immediately and awarded a technical knockout victory to Michael Boapeah at 2:08 of the first round. Ulric Bokeme was visibly upset and in pain, and reportedly told his corner that he had swallowed some of his teeth as well. 

Watch the video here:

This isn't the first time when such a moment has happened, with the UFC fighter Anthony Smith shockingly handing his teeth to a referee during a brutal TKO loss to Glover Teixeira. Meanwhile, Luke Rockhold lost his teeth in a bare-knuckle boxing event against fellow ex-UFC rival Mike Perry. Incidents like these cast doubt over the protective equipment used in kickboxing, while reminding everyone about the requirement to improve it.

Notably, Ulric Bokeme has a record of 32-4 in kickboxing and suffered his first loss by TKO or retirement recently. The 32-year-old had signed with GLORY in 2019 and had only fought once in the promotion before his recent bout. Moreover, GLORY is a kickboxing promotion which has seen some brilliant moments in its history, while giving a platform to greats like Rico Verhoeven and Badr Hari.