Rafael dos Anjos Aims For November Return Following Surgery
Rafael dos Anjos shocked the world at last month’s UFC 185 when he upset former champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis in Dallas to steal the belt and become the new champion. Despite battering and bloodying Pettis up over the course of five rounds, dos Anjos didn’t exactly walk out of the cage unscathed either.
However, these injuries were actually suffered by the Brazilian before the bout, making his victory all the more impressive. A report surfaced after the bout that dos Anjos had an issue with his nose that actually gave him trouble breathing during the fight, and would require surgery.
Speaking with MMAFighting, RDA mentioned that he underwent the surgery, and that is was successful. He admitted that his breathing is much better already:
“The surgery was good. A lot better than I expected,” dos Anjos said on Friday. “Even with the gauze in the nose I can breathe way better than before.”
Dos Anjos also went into his title bout with a partially torn MCL in his knee, an injury that will luckily not need surgery. The champion continued on saying that although surgery is not needed, it will take a few months for his knee to heal:
“The nose recovery will be fast, but I went to the doctor on Wednesday to check my knee and he said I will be ready to return to strong training in two months,” he said. “But I’m swimming and bicycling so I won’t stop training.”
As for what’s next for the newly crowned title holder, he will likely be awaiting the winner of UFC 187’s clash between top contenders Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov. The Brazilian was also recently accused of using steroids by fellow lightweight Bobby Green, and due to his injuries, it will be some time before he can return and prove himself as a true champion:
“If everything goes right, late October or early November is a good date for me to return,” dos Anjos said. “It would give me a good time to prepare and don’t risk getting injured again.”
Once he returns, will dos Anjos be successful in ruling the 155-pound division?
