UFC women’s flyweight fighter Cat Zingano has shared pictures of the bizarre eye injury caused by a toe poke to her face, leading to her TKO defeat against Megan Anderson last night. 

Competing on the undercard of UFC 232 in California, Zingano was caught with a left foot to the face by her Australian opponent in the first round.

Zingano fell back clearly in distress, as Anderson stepped in to land more punches before referee Marc Goddard called off the fight.

Close-up shots of the incident showed that the US fighter had been caught in her right eye by Anderson’s left big toe, causing a cut to her eyelid that was initially feared to have caused serious damage.

Zingano has now taken to social media to show pictures of the damage and to allay fears that her eye had been ruptured

I was worried my eye was ruptured. They say I’ll be ok tonight.

“Thanks to everyone for your concern. What are your thoughts on a finger digit poke vs a toe digit poke being ruled a tko?” the fighter wrote.

The veteran brawler was referring to the rule whereby finger pokes to the eye can allow a stoppage for a fighter to recover, while there are no similar guidelines for toe pokes.

The toe poke is a tough one to call. 

The odds of that happening aren’t great. 

 Anderson defended her actions in following up with an attack on her opponent before the fight was waved off, saying: 

The Toe poke is a winning move.