Minotouro (photo) has been suffering from back injuries. Photo: Nick Laham/Zuffa LLC
Rogério Minotouro plans to make his long-awaited return to the UFC at the beginning of the second half of 2014. The Brazilian, who has been out of activity since the beginning of last year, has been recovering from a series of injuries that prevented him from taking part in some fights for which he was scheduled .
His last fight took place in February 2013, at UFC 156, when he defeated Rashad evans in the unanimous decision of the judges. Afterwards, it was announced for two fights, against Mauritius Shogun (June 2013) and Alexander Gustafson (March 2014), which he was forced to withdraw due to a back injury.
“I'm going back to training again and I'm thinking about fighting this year. Maybe in July, August. But it's the moment I'm still coming back to. I came back from a very serious injury and lost all my conditioning, and now I want to get back”, said the fighter, in an exclusive interview with SUPER FIGHTS.
Originally, Minotouro's plans indicated a return to the UFC in the first half of the year. However, the idea had to be postponed for a few months, as, between the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, Minotouro felt the injury again while training.
“When I came back, I tried to train at the same pace as always. It is difficult for the athlete to return to training slowly. I came back at a strong pace and felt the injury again. Until then, I was doing well. It was my carelessness. I wanted to go back and do it now sparring, but I shouldn't have done that. I want to go back as soon as possible. I can’t take it anymore,” she joked.
Now, the focus is on regaining physical conditioning so that we can then do heavier training. “I have to do all the muscle preparation, which takes months, and that's the stage I'm at. I lost muscle mass, I'm leaner. I'm already strengthening my abdomen and back. My flexibility, which I lost a lot in my left leg, is already returning”, he detailed.
Minotouro's last fight was against Evans, in 2013. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
And it will be precisely Minotouro's physical condition that will weigh on the fighter's preference for choosing his next opponent. “The quicker I get to a title fight, the better. But let's see how the body will respond. My desire is to return to a high level. I can fight anyone well, but I need to be good. I'm 37 years old and I want to be well enough to fight. I have to be training 100%, dedicating myself to the physical part, to fight well again”, he commented.
'I thought about fighting injured, but nobody cares about excuses', says Minotouro
In the middle of last year, Minotouro withdrew from the long-awaited rematch against Shogun, which would take place at UFC 161, in June 2013. However, the athlete stated that he considered the possibility of fighting even though he was injured.
“In May last year, I had back pain for the whole month. In June, I could no longer train properly. In the last training session, when I was about to travel, I went to do a pendulum and felt pain. I fell to the floor. I spent 15 days going to the hospital every day, some of them in bed because I couldn't walk properly. I couldn't stand up. I went to the bathroom to take a shower, but I had to come back quickly because my leg hurt. It was a serious injury,” she recalls.
“The funny thing is that I wanted to fight so much that I even thought about fighting injured. But there came a time when I couldn't train anymore. If I couldn't train, how will I be able to fight? You think about fighting to not disappoint the fans, but then you go there, you lose because you are in bad conditions. No one will care about excuses, because no one cares if you are hurt”, explained Minotouro.
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