Rafael dos Anjos’ luck has gone from unhealthy to worse as the previous UFC light-weight champion is now confronted with maybe the largest hurdle of his profession.
The 40-year-old sustained an alarming leg injury throughout his showdown with seasoned operator Goeff Neal at UFC 308 final Saturday.
After figuring out the welterweight’s discomfort, referee Mark Smith swiftly halted proceedings within the opening spherical, permitting Rafael dos Anjos to get the medical consideration he wanted.
Since then, the MMA veteran has expressed an curiosity in remaining within the sport however, following an replace on his damage, could now should rethink a possible retirement plan.
- Learn Extra [‘I’m not done yet!’… Rafael dos Anjos shares encouraging health update after horrific leg injury suffered at UFC 308]
Rafael dos Anjos reveals that he’ll endure leg surgical procedure following his devastating defeat to Goeff Neal
Dos Anjos’ third defeat in a row arrived on the undercard of Ilia Topuria’s ruthless third-round stoppage over Max Holloway in Abu Dhabi.
Previous to that, he had suffered unanimous resolution losses to each Mateusz Gamrot and Vicente Luque, seemingly struggling to seek out the remnants of his prime years.
And but, the as soon as formidable light-weight king continues to chug alongside at 165 lbs, regardless of being a far cry from the higher echelons of his division.
Dos Anjos, after all, beat Anthony Pettis for his trinket again in 2015, earlier than defending the prize with an emphatic first-round end towards MMA legend Donald Cerrone.
However now, the Brazilian is compelled to withstand the jaws of retirement after revealing that the harm he sustained towards Neal was, in truth, an ACL damage.
There’s hope for Dos Anjos but, although, as a number of UFC fighters up to now, together with adorned champions Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre and Ronda Rousey, have bounced again from related accidents.
Nonetheless, at this late stage in his profession, it’s tough to check a route again to the highest for Dos Anjos.
On his Instagram story, he mentioned: “My ACL is gone guys, going underneath the knife on the following couple of days. God’s plan.”
Rafael dos Anjos is ready to rethink UFC profession following ACL damage replace
In equity to Dos Anjos, a defeat to tenth-ranked UFC welterweight contender Neal is actually salvageable.
However nonetheless, he could also be compelled to place any title aspirations to mattress and, as an alternative, concentrate on being a strong gatekeeper for the up-and-coming skills.
And so, regardless of teasing the concept of resuming his profession, Dos Anjos could now should make a tough resolution on what shall be greatest for his legacy and, extra importantly, his well being.
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