Joe Doerksen Injury Update
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Joe Doerksen Injury Update By Joe Hall It was not the performance he expected. Joe Doerksen’s long awaited UFC debut brought a painful defeat, but the Canadian middleweight was in good spirits when reached by FCF Wednesday night. Doerksen attributed the loss to a sudden lack of confidence in his striking and a game opponent who took advantage of his reluctance. "Joe Riggs did a great job," Doerksen said. "His career is going to take off. Despite the fact that he beat me up, I’m happy for him." Once he returned home to New Bothwell, Canada, Doerksen watched footage of his UFC 49 defeat to Riggs. In reflection, he said, his hesitation to strike on the feet foiled his all around game. It threw off his timing, his takedowns and his submissions and caused him to second-guess himself throughout the fight, says Doerksen.
Riggs capitalized. He cut Doerksen badly over the eye with an elbow and then broke his nose with another elbow. The cuts needed nine stitches, and his nose was reset in a Las Vegas hospital. A CAT Scan came back normal, and Doerksen said the doctor told him he could fight again in as early as four weeks, though his commission-mandated medical suspension will likely keep him out of the cage for at least eight weeks. "My nose is a little crooked," he said, "but it’s not the first time it’s been broken and I’m pretty sure it’s not the last. It’s part of the job, and I’m learning to accept it." Doerksen is hungry to get back in the ring. He’ll have a few Canadian beers on Saturday night, relax on Sunday and be back in the gym on Monday. "I just want to get back in the ring and start throwing some punches," he said. "Either for MMA, boxing, kickboxing-anything that will get me back in the ring. I want to get back in there and fight a little bit more aggressively, a little harder. My goal for my next fight is to take my opponent’s head and knock it into the 17th row." |
