Valentina Shevchenko put on a stunning performance at UFC Fight Night 125. The fighter earned a dominant submission victory over UFC newcomer Priscila Cachoeira, earning a UFC record setting striking score of 217-1.
Now Tiago Okamura, manager to Priscila Cachoeira, has come forward to reveal that the fighter was seriously damaged from the match up. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Okamura said:
“She tore her meniscus and ACL in the beginning of the first round, the first time they engaged, and it went all downhill from that moment. We couldn’t do anything.”
Speaking on the referee’s decision to not stop the fight during the first round of brutal ground and pound from Shevchenko, Okamura added:
“He could have stopped it in a few occasions. But ‘Pedrita’ is really tough and doesn’t give up. She was trying to get out the entire time. Being a referee is a very complicated job.”
The manager then went into detail about the severity of Cachoeira’s injury.
“We didn’t know how serious the injury was. If we knew, I think we would have stopped it, but we only knew when we went to the hospital. She was in pain, she got hurt in the first exchange, and told me in between rounds that she hurt her knee but I told her to shut up. I was trying to make her stop thinking about that, but I had no idea how serious it was. If I knew it, I would have stopped it. We thought she would be able to fight all three rounds.”
“‘Pedrita’ is fearless, she would never quit. She never considered quitting. The world hasn’t seen the real ‘Pedrita’ fight. They saw an injured girl fighting the best pound-for-pound female fighter in MMA, Valentina Shevchenko. Maybe she would lose even if she was 100 percent, but the fight would be a bit better.”
