Demetrious Johnson Reveals Severity Of UFC 227 Injuries
Demetrious Johnson revealed the severity of the significant injuries he suffered at August 4’s UFC 227.
The record-setting Johnson defended his flyweight title 11 consecutive times. He lost a narrow split decision to Cejudo at the pay-per-view card from Los Angeles, therefore ending the historic run.
Johnson claimed he suffered some serious injuries in his narrow loss to “The Messenger.” He would not, however, blame for the loss in a great fight. Meanwhile, it turns out his injuries are indeed quite serious.
Johnson revealed on today’s episode of “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” that he has a partial LCL tear in his knee. He is also dealing with a potentially serious issue with his calf:
“There’s no broken bones but there’s still a little swelling. I got the MRI results. I have a high-grade partial tear in my LCL. Right now, I’m suffering from pain in my lower calf area … I can’t even sleep at night. I’m waking up, just sweating in bed. I saw the UFC Performance Institute doctor, the physio therapist, and I have a possible tear in my Achilles into my calf, (but) that’s not for certain. I need to see how high the grade is for the tears.”
The injuries sound ominous, but due to the grade of the tear, Johnson is optimistic. He said he believes he will not require surgery:
“I don’t think I should (need surgery) but it all depends on the severity of the tear. Because when I get MRIs it says hybrid partial tear on the LCL. So is that grade 1, grade 2 or grade 3? Typically grade 3, you need surgery, grade 2 is six weeks off and rehab. It’s feeling like a grade 2 because I’ve had a tear in my left LCL before. In the fight, when it happened, I felt the pop go and the first thing that went through my head was, ‘Oh that’s fantastic, there goes the right LCL.'”
The longtime former champ will be on the sidelines for some time to heal. In the meantime, Cejudo is campaigning for a super fight with bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw.
When Johnson is able to return, it will be beyond difficult to deny him a rematch because of his illustrious track record.
