JAKE HADLEY has claimed he "almost DIED" during his gruelling weight cut for his UFC Nashville showdown with Cody Durden.
The Dana White's Contenders Series graduate looked to make it three wins on the bounce in his flyweight showdown with the American last Saturday.
But the Brit's bid to establish himself as a top-15 125-pounder was stopped in its tracks by Durden, who scored a unanimous decision victory.
Hadley – who suffered a horrific gash above his left eye – didn't feel himself on fight night and attributed his poor performance to a difficult weight cut.
The Brummie said: "Lost the fight few things went wrong before the fight.
"I almost died during the weight cut I actually saw God for a second."
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Hadley, 27, claims he struggled to properly rehydrate himself following his arduous cut down to 126lbs.
He said: "[I] couldn't rehydrate like normal felt like that had a major effect on my performance because I couldn't push like normal.
"Anyone who knows me knows I never gas.
Despite attributing the loss to his weight cut, 'White Kong' is refusing to take anything away from short-notice replacement Durden
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He said: "Fix these mistakes ready for the next.
"One respect for Cody, he showed he was a true warrior surviving that armbar what a gangster.
"Nashville fans were absolutely amazing.
"They really showed me some love lot of people telling me should have been FOTN I dunno but Durden deserves a bonus.
"Peace out I'll be back yeah."
The UFC resumes action this weekend in Las Vegas, with a tasty welterweight showdown between Vicente Luque and Rafael dos Anjos headlining the card.
Their pay-per-view schedule resumes the following week in Boston with UFC 292.
Topping the bill at the TD Garden will be a men's bantamweight title fight between champion Aljamain Sterling and fan favourite Sean O'Malley.
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