'Dos Anjos' injury was a bizarre accident', says coach

Dos Anjos was left out of UFC 196. Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

After the surprising news that Rafael dos Anjos will no longer fight at UFC 196, on March 5th, details of the injury suffered by the Brazilian began to emerge. The athlete's physical trainer, Nick Curson, classified the move that culminated in the fracture of Dos Anjos' left foot as a “freak accident”.

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The episode took place last Friday (19), during a sparring session (when athletes simulate, in the most realistic way possible, the fighting situation). The Brazilian was working on his stand-up skills against a training partner, but an unfortunate move resulted in his injury.

“'RDA's' injury was a bizarre accident that happened during sparring. He kicked, his partner saved and he fractured his fifth metatarsal,” Curson wrote on his Twitter account. The bone in question is on the front of the foot, connected to the little toe.

According to information from the North American website “MMA Fighting”, Dos Anjos rested after the injury and waited for the weekend to see if his condition improved. As he was still feeling pain on Monday, the fighter underwent a series of tests that detected the fracture. Furthermore, Dos Anjos had a doctor's recommendation to keep his foot at rest for three weeks.

The Brazilian's head coach, Rafael Cordeiro, did not hide his disappointment with the news. “I'm devastated, because we were preparing well for the fight. We were ready”, commented the coach.

Rafael dos Anjos has been UFC lightweight champion since March 2015. The Brazilian has already defended his title in December, when he knocked out Donald Cerrone. This would be his second defense.

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