Why did James Thompson go into the fight with an ear almost bursting?

Question

Something doesn't seem right about how James Thompson came into the fight. How can you go into an MMA fight with an ear that looks infected and ready to burst with the slightest touch? I understand fighters have cauliflower ear but this wasn't cauliflower ear this was an ear that was ready to explode. I just don't see how they didn't drain the ear a week before the fight? I also think the ear exploding had something to do with the fight being stopped, do you agree? Was it intentional to send Thompson in the cage with a damaged ear?

Answer 1

I've never seen any fighter come into the ring with an ear in that condition.  Good Lord, he looked Nurse Gollum from South Park with that thing on the side of his head.

The doctor who cleared him is obviously a drunken lemur or something.

Answer 2

Because if he tried to drain it he couldn't fight.

Answer 3

Because he had to. He got the call to fight on prime time, on national tv. It was not smart of him to go in without seeking some sort of treatment; he had to know that his ear was just screaming "Hit Me Kimbo!" It's like those emergency fire extinguishers. " In case of emergency, Break Glass"

Answer 4

It was a stupid thing to do.  Im not sure if it sprung up just before the fight or what happened, but it definatly shouldve been drained and glued back up...  And to the kid who said it was calcium, your wrong, its a combination of puss and blood, that seeps into the ear and then has no pathway out of the ear, after a few days it will harden up and not be able to be drained, it can still be scraped out but that requires your ear to be sliced open and just doesnt make sense for a fighter to do.

Answer 5

It is just calcium build up in the ear.  Wrestlers have this all the time.  I admit though, they should have at least drained it, but it doesn't hurt.  

Edited: From what I could tell, he was bleeding from inside the ear, not the growth.  If it was just from the growth they would have not stopped the fight.

Answer 6

This is not uncommon amongst fighters!

Answer 7

you can't really fix cauliflower ear & if you do I believe it's expensive & potentially drawn out. there are tons of fighters who have it

Answer 8

Look into his eyes, that ear(grotesque as it was)are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things that are wrong with that guy.  If my ear ever got that bad Id hack the d**n thing off.

Answer 9

It doesnt make a ton of sense to have it drained once and then have it drained again after the fight. It hurts a lot to have and it hurts to have drained. Also, having it surgically drained could pose problems with being opened up during the fight.