A punch thrown by Guida at the start caused Anjos's injury. Photo: Josh Hedges
After notching three-straight victories in the Ultimate Fighting Championship Rafael dos Anjos met with misfortune at last Saturday’s UFC 117 event. The Roberto Gordo black belt suffered a jaw injury that resulted in his pulling out during the fight against Clay Guida.
“We’re still here in California and he suffered a fractured jaw bone. It broke in two places and we’ll have to operate this Wednesday, here. We return to Brazil on Friday,” said the leader of Gordo-Evolve academy to GRACIEMAG.com this Tuesday.
The injury occurred during the first round of the bout, but Rafael held out until the third.
“We watched the video and could tell that the fracture happened in the first minute of the opening round. He felt it go slack. Since he did really well in the first, we figured he could carry on. But it hurt a lot, and when Guida put his weight on it there was no way to continue,” recounted Gordo.
But things could be worse, as Anjos’s time on ice won’t last too long.
“He’ll be able to start physiotherapy after a month, but it will be two months before he gets back to training,” said the trainer in finishing.