A. Johnson (left) was almost surprised by J. Augusto 'Gugu' in the Bellator 258. Photo: Disclosure/Bellator
After agreeing to face, at the last minute, one of Bellator's biggest bets for the season, José Augusto 'Gugu' does have something to celebrate. Defeated by the North American in the light heavyweight tournament (up to 93kg), the Brazilian was close to victory and gave his rival trouble as long as he could. Through his advisor, the Bahian revealed that he had suffered an injury to his hand in the middle of the confrontation, but he still came close to beating his opponent.
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“I think I did as well as possible, but I could have done better. After the fight I was very upset, but I'm calmer now. At the end I was very excited to finish the fight, I think I could have chosen the strikes better or told him to get up to try to knock him out standing up. I couldn't get the rear naked choke because I lacked strength in my hands. I went to the pot very thirsty and didn't put the hooks in. After the fight I was praised a lot, and I was very grateful for that. But it wasn't how I wanted, because I entered this fight to come out with the victory. But God knows all things”, said the 29-year-old fighter.
For the duel against Johnson, 'Gugu' had less than two weeks to prepare. The Bahian had debuted in Bellator just over a month ago, in a victory over Jonathan Wilson. Willing to take Romero's place, the Brazilian agreed to have the most important fight of his life to date.
In the confrontation, Augusto came close to shocking the world in the first round. The athlete managed to take down the North American with a singular blow, but was unable to settle the bill, largely due to the injury to his hand.
After recovering, Anthony returned ready to recover from the loss in the second stage. Before two minutes, the athlete surprised the Brazilian and managed a knockout and resumed his career after more than two years with a positive result.
Beaten for the first time in Bellator, 'Gugu', after the duel, confirmed that there was no fracture in his hand. Evaluated by a specialist, the Bahian celebrated the fact that it was nothing serious.
“I had an exam on Tuesday and thank God I didn’t break my hand. I had a ligament injury, but the doctor believes that with physiotherapy I can start punching again in a month. In 20 days I will return for a new evaluation”, he concluded.
With the triumph over the Brazilian, Anthony advanced to the next stage in the under-93kg category tournament. The championship, in addition to the belt, gives the winner a prize of US$1 million (around R$5,3 million).
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