An American MMA fighter posted a photo of his facial injuries 2 weeks after being KO'd with an illegal knee to the skull

• Boston Salmon won a fight earlier this month when his opponent Shawn West was disqualified.
• In the second round of a Legacy Fighting Alliance show, West hit Salmon with a flying knee when Salmon was already down on the ground.
• The move horrified MMA media at the time, as the prominent journalist Ariel Helwani tweeted: "It doesn't get more illegal and vicious than this."
• Salmon's injuries included a broken cheek bone, a broken orbital bone, and an eyeball reddened beyond recognition.
• Two weeks on, Salmon posted a photograph of his facial injuries to Instagram.
• WARNING: The picture is not for the squeamish.

An American fighter shared a photograph of his facial injuries two weeks after he was knocked out with a disqualifying knee to the skull.

It all went down at the Legacy Fighting Alliance 84 show in South Dakota during a fight between Boston Salmon and Shawn West on July 10.

Both fighters landed powerful punches in the second round and took a step backward, but while West regained his balance, Salmon fell to the floor.

West then ran at Salmon, hit him with a flying knee when Salmon was already down, and knocked him unconscious, leaving him on the floor, motionless and bleeding from the head.

The move horrified MMA media. "It doesn't get more illegal and vicious than this," ESPN's Ariel Helwani said on Twitter.

Two weeks after Salmon won via disqualification, the fighter posted a photograph of the injuries on Instagram, and you can see the damage from the broken cheek bone and broken orbital bone he endured.

WARNING: The picture is not for the squeamish.

"Just wanted to let you all know that I'm OK and taking the necessary time to heal up and focus on my health most importantly," Salmon said.

"A lot of you were scared and concerned, and so was I. I can assure you that I'm OK and will be back from this."

There should be disciplinary action, the fighter's manager said

Salmon's manager, Brian Butler-Au of SuckerPunch Entertainment, described the incident as "extremely unfortunate."

"Boston was in control of this fight and just settling into his range and timing in the second round when both he and his opponent, Shawn West, landed simultaneous hooks causing both to be flashed and knocked down," Butler-Au said.

"As Boston was getting back to his feet he was hit with an illegal knee that ended the night.

"What we have to focus on here first and foremost is Boston's health. The knee landed with incredible force and caused Boston to suffer a broken orbital and cheek bone.

"Aside from the DQ we feel there should be disciplinary actions enforced by the commission to set a higher precedence on these types of fouls.

"There was no question about the legality of the knee, and Boston was awarded the win at the end of the contest. It goes without saying that this is not the way Boston wanted the fight to be determined.

"As a team we are sitting down with Boston and his family to discuss what we want to do moving forward. Boston would like to thank LFA and their staff for getting him back on stage and giving him the opportunity to perform.

"For now Boston is going to undergo further examination and we will determine the next steps as we go."

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