A. Júnior should return in March 2019. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @caradesapatojr
Living the best phase of your career, Antonio Shoe Guy Júnior will have to interrupt a streak of five wins in two years. Since the Brazilian will have to undergo surgery to heal the chest injury that took him out of UFC Sao Paulo and 231. In an interview with the “Ag Fight” website, the native of Paraíba revealed that he will spend at least six months recovering and should return to the Octagon in March 2019.
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“No, this year it’s really impossible for me to fight. We hope that I can be fighting, being positive, I think that within six months we can fight. After about four, six weeks, he [doctor] said that I should start doing physiotherapy, start doing some movements”, explained the fighter.
Initially, Shoe Face had announced his departure from the UFC Sao Paulo due to a simple chest injury. Therefore, Ultimate rescheduled his clash against Elias Theodorou for UFC 231 in Toronto (CAN). However, the Brazilian was surprised to learn that he needed surgery.
“I found out [that I would need to have surgery] last Thursday (13). As I wasn't recovering, I called the doctor, and he asked for an MRI, which we hadn't done yet. Because based on the manual tests, the manual processes he carried out, he thought it wouldn't be anything too serious, just a strain or something like that. But it had been going on for a long time, and it was bothering me, and it wasn’t getting any better”, reported the athlete.
The middleweight will undergo surgical reconstruction of the pectoral muscle tendon on September 22nd in Brazil. Shoe Face admitted he was frustrated at having to be gone for so long. Even so, he promised to make an effort to return to the octagon as soon as possible.
“Without a doubt, standing still is harmful, it's boring, it's bad, you don't fight, you lose your rhythm a little. But I hope to do this as smoothly as possible, as quickly as possible, I want to get back soon so I'm going to dedicate as much as I can to this part of the recovery. And hey, it’s better [to stay away] after five wins than after five defeats, right?”, said Antônio.
The Brazilian occupies 11th place in the UFC middleweight rankings. At 28 years old, Shoe Face He has had 12 clashes in his career, 10 of which were triumphs and two setbacks. His last commitment was at UFC Glandele in April this year. The Paraíba native beat Tim Boetsch with a submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in the first round.
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