Priscila Cachoeira took some serious punishment in her octagon debut over the weekend. The mixed martial arts warrior faced off against former UFC bantamweight title challenger Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 125.
Shevchenko put on a dominant display inside the octagon, earning a submission victory in the second round against Cachoeira. During the fight, Cachoeira suffered some brutal ground and pound that left the fighter bruised and cut to a perhaps alarming extent.
Shevchenko set a UFC record, as the striking statistics for the fight were 217-1 in the former title challenger’s favor. It would later be revealed that Cachoeira tore both her meniscus and her ACL during the match.
The brutal beatdown has since received criticism for being an alleged mismatch. UFC President Dana White has gone on to share some heated words over referee Mario Yamasaki for not stopping the fight sooner.
“Priscilla Cachoeira, you showed so much heart and toughness in that fight. I’m honored to have you fight in the UFC. Unfortunately the ref is there to protect you and Mario DID NOT do that. This isn’t his first disgusting performance in the octagon. Another unfortunate thing is that i can’t do anything about I️t only the Brazilian commission can and i am hoping after this scary, incompetent showing he hopefully will never set foot in that Octagon again. Strikes landed was 230-3.”
Now Priscila Cachoeira has come forward with a response to all of the fight’s recent criticism. Taking to social media, the fighter revealed that she would fight Shevchenko “another 10 times without even thinking twice.”
Check out a translation of Cachoeira’s Instagram post down below:
“Hi, everyone. Just stopping by to say everything is OK. Took me a while to speak because I didn’t have my cell on me and I was at the hospital… So… I apologize to my fans, friends and family, who threw a party to watch my fight. I caught an extremely tough fighter, who I’m a fan of, and on fight time I wasn’t the real ‘Pedrita.’
“Those who know me and are around me on my day-to-day, know how I could have performed. And even having injured my knee early in the fight, I went until the end because I don’t know quitting. I will need surgery on my ACL and meniscus. And there are a lot of people talking about how I fought the top one, etc, that my master told me to shut up and blah blah.
“Let’s go… I will fight any fighter in the world, regardless of her standings. I’d fight Valentina another 10 times without even thinking twice. Those who pick easy battles aren’t true warriors. And the treatment and the intimacy I have with my master… Those on the outside don’t know anything to criticize it. This isn’t master and student. It’s father and daughter.
“And no one will say how he’s supposed to treat me. And about throwing the towel: this is PRVT, and we’re the ones who know my limits. Throwing the towel, never. Thank you all for the messages of kindness and support I’ve been getting. I’m sure I have gotten a family for the rest of my life. And to those criticizing: I don’t give a damn, I will come back stronger. ‘A moment will not erase an entire history’”
