5 times UFC stars fought the fight of their lives despite being sick or injured 

Fighters in the UFC have earned plaudits for being some of the toughest athletes in the world. It is no surprise that fighters have an extremely high tolerance for pain. It would take a madman to willingly get punched or kicked otherwise.

Some fighters, however, one up their contemporaries by picking fights while nursing a particular injury or sickness. Although a legion of medical professionals would advise otherwise, fighters often choose to fight through medical conditions due to a myriad of personal reasons.

What's more surprising is the fact that regardless of their respective injuries, some fighters go on to record stupefying wins in their fights. However, some competitors, after putting on a brave outing, are forced to find their way back home with a loss on their record.

Rory Markham, for instance, is one such fighter. UFC 95 saw Markham lace up a pair of gloves to butt heads with Dan Hardy. Markham failed to come up big and fell to Dan Hardy via first-round knockout.

What was astonishing about the fight was the fact that Markham had walked into his clash against Hardy with a collapsed lung. Although the severity of his condition was never revealed, we can only imagine how difficult it must have been to compete in the octagon.

His co-main event bout against Hardy saw him cut down to 170 pounds, having previously fought in the middleweight division. It was subsequently revealed that the weight cut had caused his lung complication.

In this article, however, we take a look at those UFC fighters who managed to emerge triumphant despite going into their fights with an injury or a medical ailment.

---

#5. Georges St-Pierre vs. Jason Miller - UFC 52

Georges St-Pierre walked into a fight against one of the UFC welterweight division's top prospects, Jason Miller, while battling an illness. The fight went down at the iconic MGM Grand Garden Arena at UFC 52 back in April 2005.

The future 170-pound champion managed to score a decisive unanimous decision victory over Miller. It was in the aftermath of their fight, during his post-fight octagon interview with Joe Rogan, that it was revealed that St-Pierre could not breathe through his nose.

The triumph marked GSP's first step in his crusade to sling the UFC welterweight championship title over his shoulder.

#4. Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez - UFC on Fox 1

The heavyweight main event at UFC on FOX saw Junior dos Santos butt heads with Cain Velasquez back in November 2011. After recording a first-round KO win over Velasquez, dos Santos walked out of the octagon as the freshly minted heavyweight champion.

However, going into the fight, Santos had been nursing a knee injury. The Brazilian suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee a week-and-a-half before the fight.

In fact, Santos revealed that he had spent most of fight week on crutches. Rehab and striking drills in the pool ensured that the joint was under a minimal amount of stress ahead of the event.

---

#3. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje - UFC 254

Khabib Nurmagomedov's fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October marked his final outing in the octagon. Going into the title unification fight, Khabib was reeling from the effects of a myriad of problems.

His father's tragic death was followed by a series of injuries and hospitalizations that left Khabib out of commission in the build-up to the fight for quite some time.

Khabib Nurmagomedov, while in conversation with Match TV from Russia, opened up about the struggle he had to trudge through while training for his fight against Gaethje.

'The Eagle' was hospitalized during his training camp after he caught mumps. He also went into the fight against Gaethje with a broken toe. Nevertheless, 'The Eagle' managed to secure a decisive win.

#2. Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero - UFC 213

At UFC 213, Robert Whittaker fought a surging Yoel Romero in the main event at the T-Mobile Arena. When the dust finally settled after Whittaker's unanimous decision win over 'Soldier of God', the Australian revealed that he had gone into the fight with an injury.

'The Reaper' admitted that he had tweaked his knee while preparing to take on the Cuban powerhouse. However, he refused to bail out of the fight. 'Bobby Knuckles' further picked up a strain to his left knee in the opening round.

The 2017 fight marked Whittaker's eighth win on the trot.

---

#1. Georges St-Pierre vs Nick Diaz - UFC 158

Georges St-Pierre has frequently been hailed as one of the greatest fighters to have ever entered the octagon. In his fight against Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in March 2013, GSP proved why he deserved all the plaudits that came his way.

The fight took place at the Bell Center in St-Pierre's backyard of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A unanimous decision victory on the night marked his 11th consecutive win.

In the wake of his win against Diaz, GSP's trainer revealed that he had suffered an injury to his Achilles tendon in his right leg in the lead up to the fight. What's more, he had endured an ACL tear to the same leg only a year prior.