Sask. UFC fighter Mitch Clarke hits out at critics after crushing 25-second loss

With a crunch and a pop, a career-changing fight ended almost before it began for Saskatoon-raised UFC fighter Mitch "Danger Zone" Clarke on Thursday.  

Just 25 seconds into his UFC fight against Joe Duffy in Las Vegas, Clarke lost by "submission" when his Irish opponent pinned him in a move known as a "rear naked choke". It was one of the fastest finishes in UFC lightweight history. 

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But the mixed martial arts (MMA) lightweight says a freak knee injury left him helpless to fight back.  

"He hit me and I went to step on my right leg and when I stepped my knee [made a] crunch and pop sound and twisted as I went to stand onto it, and that's why, like, I flew off to the side," he said. 

The fighter says a visit to the hospital revealed tears to his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL). 

Clarke said doctors were unable to tell if the injury would require surgery, or how long he would be off his feet, because it was still too swollen. 

He fears the injury could keep him out of the ring for months, and has been disappointed by the reaction from UFC fans. 

"The thing that probably irritates me the most is that all these kind of armchair warriors think I went down because I got hit, it was because my knee blew out and I couldn't move," he said.  

"Joe Duffy was a good competitor and he was all over me but, like, it was just so disappointing." 

Clarke expects to find out more about the extent of his injury next week. He said insensitive comments online, and even in person in the lobby of his hotel in Las Vegas, had shown him another side of the UFC fanbase. 

"The fans can be the best and worst thing about this sport and people like that are terrible," he said. 

"They don't understand that we're people, they just want to see what they want to see."

However, Clarke's opponent Duffy was among those who used social media to send messages of support. 

Clarke, who is based in Edmonton, will fly back to Canada on Saturday. He said he was not sure what was next for him after the injury.  

Another Saskatchewan-based fighter, former UFC champion Brock Lesnar, will fight in the UFC 200 against New Zealand's Mark Hunt on Saturday.  

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At 38, Lesnar is trying to get one more shot at the glory he experienced nearly a decade ago. The 286-pound wrestler is currently signed with the WWE, but an agreement between the two organizations is allowing him to fight Hunt, the eighth-ranked heavyweight, on Saturday.