Deiveson Figueiredo suffered a nasty knee injury after losing to Cory Sandhagen at UFC Des Moines, but the two-time flyweight champion does not need to undergo surgery to repair the damage that was made.
On Thursday, Figureid manager Alex Davis told MMA Fighting that the Brazilian shed tears from the anterolateral ligament in his knee. Fortunately, for the fighter, the injury was not as serious as he demanded he go under the knife. Instead, Figueiredo is only experiencing physical therapy, and he has already begun and gives his knees a rest as he recovers.
The injury occurred in the second round when Sanhagen sat down during a grappling change. His legs were intertwined with Figaid as Sandhagen moved forward. Two seconds later, Figueiredo tapped out and the fight was stopped as Sandhagen was won by TKO due to injury.
“It’s very painful,” Davis told MMA that he was fighting a knee injury that figueiredo suffered. “But he didn’t finish. It was just an extraordinary accident.”
The replay showed Figueiray’s knees seemingly pop out when Sandhagen was sitting from a grappling swap and the painful appearance of his face could not be denied. Figueiredo was eventually saved by the octagon and then returned to Brazil where he sought treatment.
With a diagnosis that allows him to avoid surgery, Figueird hopes that he “already wants to fight again.”
It was the unfortunate end of the battle after Figueiredo hoped to get back on track when he faced Sandhagen on the UFC’s return to Iowa. Figueiredo’s loss was his second straight after winning three consecutive times following a move from flyweight to Bantamweight.
There is no exact timeline when Figueiredo might book another fight, but Davis says he is eager to return to work when his knees are healed, and expects to run to the ground.