Ex-UFC lightweight fighter Terry Etim is reported to be in “serious condition” in a Liverpool hospital after demonstrating bizarre, out-of-control behaviour yesterday.
Eye-witnesses have claimed that the 31 year-old jumped out of a Ford Focus car on a busy street and started darting in and out of traffic, throwing himself at the windshields of as many as three single-decker buses and a Nissan Qashqai car.
Only one of the vehicles was moving at the time, but each had it’s windshield smashed and Etim was reported to be “covered from head to toe in blood” as a few of his friends and other onlookers attempted unsuccessfully to stop him.
“He wasn’t trying to harm anybody but himself,” hairdresser Andrea Mcullough told The Liverpool Echo newspaper.
Eventually Etim was restrained by police and was taken to a nearby hospital where he remains at the time of writing.
It was almost a decade ago that Etim first arrived in the UFC with an unblemished 9-0 record at the time, and he’d go on to become a significant player in the lightweight division, who was known for his dangerous submission skills.
Etim would fight for six years in the Octagon, at one point recorded a four-fight winning streak and also claiming four ‘Submission Of The Night’ bonuses during an overall 6-5 run.
Towards the end of his time in the UFC, Etim fell victim to a particularly brutal wheel kick knockout from Edson Barboza that became recognised as one of the nastiest finishes in the history of the sport.
That came during a period in which Etim lost three out of four fights in the Octagon, which led to him being released in February of 2013.
Later that year he’d sign for Bellator and picked up a win in his debut. After that he was due to fight in their next lightweight tournament in 2014, but he suffered an ACL injury and had to withdraw.
Etim hasn’t fought since and little is known about what he’s been doing in the years since.
