Manager: Cachoeira injured knee in first, needs surgery
Tiago Okamura: “She tore her meniscus and ACL in the beginning of the first round, the first time they engaged, and it went all downhill from that moment. We couldn’t do anything.”
Flyweight Priscila Cachoeira gamely endured a one-sided beatdown vs. Valentina Shevchenko at UFC Fight Night 125 on Saturday night. President Dana White was highly critical of referee Mario Yamasaki for not stopping the fight earlier, and said at the time that league personnel were with her at the hospital. Now her manager Tiago Okamura reports she suffered a serious knee injury in the first, and will need surgery.
She tore her meniscus and ACL in the beginning of the first round, the first time they engaged, and it went all downhill from that moment, said Okamura to Guilherme Cruz for MMA Fighting. We couldn’t do anything.
Okamura agreed that the fight could be have been stopped earlier.
He could have stopped it in a few occasions, said the manager. But ‘Pedrita’ is really tough and doesn’t give up. She was trying to get out the entire time. Being a referee is a very complicated job.
Cruz also spoke with Cachoeira’s coach and cornerman Giliard Parana, who explained why he never stopped the bout by jumping into the cage.
We didn’t know how serious the injury was, said the coach. If we knew, I think we would have stopped it, but we only knew when we went to the hospital. She was in pain, she got hurt in the first exchange, and told me in between rounds that she hurt her knee but I told her to shut up. I was trying to make her stop thinking about that, but I had no idea how serious it was. If I knew it, I would have stopped it.”
‘Pedrita’ is fearless, she would never quit. She never considered quitting. The world hasn’t seen the real ‘Pedrita’ fight. They saw an injured girl fighting the best pound-for-pound female fighter in MMA, Valentina Shevchenko. Maybe she would lose even if she was 100 percent, but the fight would be a bit better.
