Chi Lewis-Parry injures hand sparring Daniel Cormier, out of GLORY 30
Chi Lewis-Parry is out of his fight at GLORY 30 next week against Guto Inocente, and Daniel Cormier's hard head is partly to blame.
GLORY announced Wednesday that Lewis-Parry sustained a fractured left hand midway through a sparring session with the UFC light heavyweight champion at American Kickboxing Academy.
"We were in a sparring session and the energy level was high," Lewis-Parry told the organization. "DC is really motivated right now after watching Jones' last fight. So we were getting into it in the stand up, and next thing I've thrown my left hook and it's landed on his head and I just felt this shooting pain up my arm, from my hand up to my arm, and I just knew something had happened.
"I got my glove off and my hand was swelling up, so I called it a day, went and got a scan and it's turned out to be a fracture. I am gutted that I can't fight at GLORY 30 next week now, it's so unlucky. But I will be back as soon as I can and I am still chasing that title shot against Rico Verhoeven."
Cormier brought Lewis-Parry into AKA earlier this year to help as a sparring partner ahead of Cormier's rematch against interim UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 197. Lewis-Parry has remained a fixture at the camp with Cormier's fight having been delayed until July 9 at UFC 200.
The 6-foot-10 Lewis-Parry is a former professional basketball player who carries an 86-inch reach which exceeds even that of Jones.
Lewis-Parry racked up a 2-1 record in GLORY last year highlighted by a 25-second knockout of Yongu Park, which stands as one of the fastest finishes in the organization's history. Lewis-Parry also carries a 6-0 (1 NC) record in professional mixed martial arts and is currently one of the top heavyweight contenders under the ONE banner.
Now that he is sidelined with an injured hand, Lewis-Parry is expected to be replaced by Dutch veteran Brian Douwes at GLORY 30, which takes place May 13 in Los Angeles and airs live on UFC Fight Pass.
"I can tell you this: there are not many people who can take a clean left hook from me and stay on their feet but DC did," Lewis-Parry said. "I am well impressed with him. We've had some really hard spars. He is really, really tough -- and unfortunately for me, he's got a really hard head."