Priscila Cachoeira Reveals She Needs Surgery Following Valentina Shevchenko Beatdown
Priscila Cachoeira received a brutal beatdown at the hands of Valentina Shevchenko at UFC Fight Night 125 on Saturday night in Belem, Brazil.
It was a lop-sided fight that drew heaps of criticism on referee Mario Yamasaki because he didn't stop the fight. Even UFC president Dana White made a public statement, asking that Yamasaki never be allowed to officiate another UFC bout again.
Shevchenko lit Cachoeira up from the opening bell, staggering her on several occasions with her punch combinations before taking her to the canvas. Shevchenko quickly busted Cachoeira open with punches and elbows on the ground, blood pouring onto the mat, as she continued her assault for several minutes until the horn ended the round.
Cachoeira survived the opening round, despite later revealing that she had suffered a knee injury early on. But Shevchenko immediately planted her back to the canvas to start round two, twice putting her in a crucifix position, pummeling her with heavy shots to the face, but Yamasaki never called a halt to the fight.
Shevchenko eventually mounted Cachoeira, forced her to turn to her stomach, and then submitted her with a rear-naked choke, mercifully putting an end to the bout.
It was a complete shutout, but Cachoeira gave everything she had to try and stay in the fight. She will now be sidelined for some time, however, as she revealed on Instagram late Sunday that she will require knee surgery after having suffered a torn cruciate ligament and meniscus in the opening round.
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“I took on a tough fighter, of whom I'm a fan, and come fight time, I was not the real Pedrita,” Cachoeira wrote (translated from Portuguese). “Those who know me and are present in my day to day life know what I can do, and know that even though I injured my knee at the beginning of the fight, I fought to the end because I don't know what it is to quit. I'll have to undergo surgery on the cruciate ligament and meniscus in my knee.”
Cachoeira gave no timeline for her return from the knee injury, though it's likely to be the better part of 2018 before she could even consider returning, depending upon the severity of the injury.
She did, however, berate the critics who said that her coach should have thrown in the towel on the fight, saying she would never want that.
A post shared by Priscila Cachoeira (@pedritaprvtufc) on Feb 4, 2018 at 4:17pm PST
