Sportens för tillfället mest omtalade skada uppkom under Rafael dos Anjos sista sparring inför nästa helgs UFC 196 och enligt tränare Rafael Cordeiro var det menat att hända.
Sorry to all my real fans and @ufc,I never cancel any fight due to injury but accidents happen #Jesus#truechampionpic.twitter.com/wrV58w9KaS
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) 24 februari 2016
Det var för MMAFighting.com som Kings MMA:s Rafael Cordeiro berättade om hur Rafael dos Anjos (25-7) bröt foten två veckor inför titelmatchen mot Conor McGregor (19-2) på UFC 196:
”Unfortunately, an injury happened in his last training Friday. We were sparring, and Rafael threw a kick at the knee of the kid that was training with him. He immediately stopped kicking, put his foot on the ground, and felt a little pain. He put some ice, and couldn’t walk normally. He put more ice during the weekend to see if he would be able to train on Monday. On Monday, he contacted the UFC and said what happened. He asked to visit the UFC’s doctor, and they showed the fracture.”
Enligt Cordeiro rör det sig om ren otur att lättviktsmästaren skadade sig och därmed tvingade dra sig ur, alla anklagelser om omoderna träningsmetoder till trots. Han hoppas på att boka om mötet med McGregor så snart som möjligt.
”It was meant to happen, it was a misfortune. Unfortunately, it’s a full contact sport and [injuries] happens. We have to think about what’s next, what will happen, and how long it will take for him to recover. It will take at least three weeks until he’s able to train again, and then we will know when he will be able to fight again, so we can reschedule the fight without any problem.”
Cordeiro är självsäker på att matchen kommer bli av så småningom och tror att dos Anjos har vad som krävs för att besegra McGregor.
”We are upset. Everybody waited for this fight. The entire team is backing Rafael in this decision. Rafael’s health is what matters the most for us now. But that’s a fight we wanted, for sure. We know that Rafael has what it takes to beat [McGregor]. This fight will absolutely happen, and Rafael will prove in there that he’s the best at 155 pounds.”
