Burt Watson has become a bit of a celebrity in MMA circles. From his constant presence on the weigh-ins stage to his cry of “We rollin'” as he walks fighters from backstage to the octagon, the UFC’s site coordinator has become a fan favorite.

Not often discussed, however, are the unexpected dangers that lurk backstage. One of the more notorious backstage incidents at a UFC event was Kevin Randleman slipping and knocking himself out before his UFC 24 main event. The sheer amount of people, television cabling and hastily rigged equipment makes for a surprisingly dangerous environment.

Watson was a recent victim of those dangers when he suffered a scary injury during the main card of UFC 180, which took place at Mexico City Arena.

“I was in Mexico and they put up pipe and drapes on a five-inch thick steel bar and they were putting the pipe and drape and they decided to hodgepodge it. It was up on a coat hanger,” Watson told MMAjunkie Radio. “Kelvin Gastelum was standing in the hole. Then I turned around because the fighter’s music started, and I whipped that curtain open. When I whipped that curtain open, the whole thing came down and it cracked me on my head.”

Watson sports a scar on the top of his head from the incident.

“It was such a thud that it knocked me to my knees,” Watson said. “I kind of instinctively got up and that was it. I was out. Went back down. I had to go to the hospital.”

At the hospital, Watson was diagnosed with a concussion and was forced to stay in Mexico for an extra day because he wasn’t allowed to fly. He experienced double vision and headaches for a few days, but still considers himself fortunate that the situation wasn’t more serious.

“It was up 10 feet,” Watson said. If it were not for the fact that the drapes on it were very thick black curtained and I had this hat on, all of that cushioned it,” Watson said. “If I didn’t have the hat and the curtain wasn’t on, it would have been serious – 100 percent, it would have been serious.”

The temporary setback in Mexico in November didn’t hold Watson down for long, though. He recently launched a new website, burtwatson4real.com, and has a new signature shirt available playing off the nickname given to him by weigh-ins emcee and UFC analyst Joe Rogan: “Babysitter to the stars.”

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM channel 92, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.