In my forty plus years in martial and fighting arts I have seen some pretty bizarre injuries and almost nothing surprises me including what you saw on television the other night. You have to understand that MMA fight gloves are not that heavily padded and it hurts when you get hit hard and solidly by someone that can hit with power a little. I have said before in this forum that if I was younger I would not maybe fight professionally in MMA like I did in kick-boxing back in the early 80's.
Besides having less padding, MMA gloves have more seams and edges than say a Muay Thai or boxing glove. Edges cut and cause scrapes and abrasions much more easily than a smooth surfaced glove. In the case of Smith I think it was more a case though of the impact and the fact that there is less padding and so it caused the ear to split and then it was ripped further from subsequent punches to that area. Her ear also looked like it had some blood already pooling which is one of the things that happens early on when a fighter starts to develop Cauliflower ear. Eventually that blood dissipates and the cartilage becomes deformed and hardens but that happens over time in a fighter's career and her's had not yet drained or hardened and so it was what it was. I have seen fighter's faces get split wide open from getting hit just with a more heavily padded, smooth boxing glove. The chance of freak type injuries like what you saw come with the business of fighting.
Going into the fight, she had cauliflower ear, which is caused when the skin of the ear separates from the cartilage, and the space in between fills up with fluid, and hardens. Japanese MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba also got his ear effectively punched off a few years ago. The thing is, once it hardens, you're talking about tissue that's only connected by a flap of skin, and since it's no longer malleable, it absorbs more force. While actually separating from the head is rare, it can happen.
Its more commonly a grappling injury then a striking injury although it is possible for a striker to get it but it is also more rare, usually caused by matts. And its called cauliflower ear. at some stages its painful and you can have lose of hearing. It can be treated in the early stages
Yes, it is obviously possible although not common. The same thing can happen to your nose. The ears and nose are cartilages with a fold of skin over it.
Cauliflower ear- it was already screwed up, the shot busted it
I saw a post fight photo and it wasn't connected to her head and you could see her eardrum! How can that happen? Can hitting someone in the ear do that?
