Nicholas Motta had to go under the knife after a war with Najim Sadihov at UFC Baku in Azerbaijan last month. The lightweight duo each earned $100,000 in bonuses for the best fights of the night, but Motta went home with a knockout loss and a damaged jaw in the second round.
“I think early in round two, I hit a cross and felt like ‘F*ck, one hurts’,” Motta told MMA Fighting. “I felt my teeth were moving. I thought it broke my teeth. After the fight, we always have to go to the hospital for an exam after you lose in TKO or KO.
Motta was scheduled to return to Thailand after the event, where he camped this time, but instead traveled to Las Vegas to meet up with specialists to check for injuries. Motta said the dentist explained that the cyst caused by the wisdom teeth made his jaw more fragile and ultimately led to a fracture.
“It sucked, I couldn’t bite anything,” Motta laughed. “So I came to Vegas and had surgery.”
Photo via Nicholas Motta
Motta plans to remove the other three wisdom teeth within a few months before preparing to start a new training camp. The fighter said the recovery timetable for jaw surgery is eight weeks and the wisdom tooth procedure requires a week of leave.
“He does the surgery and puts the titanium plate down and puts it back together,” Motta said. “The funny thing is that Rafael dos Anjos sent me an x-ray of his face, and it’s full of titanium plates. He said, ‘Brother, I’ve only become a champion since then.’
Brazil’s lightweight is joking that he is like a “Terminator” after surgery and is forced to sit for a while, so he celebrates a $100,000 bonus.
“My goal was to achieve the best performance of my life,” Motta said. “I told the coach before heading out for the fight, and he said, “No, you don’t have to.” My manager later enjoyed “Motherf*cker, Motta got me” (lol). ”
Motta hopes he wins UFC Baku, but if he does, he doubts he will still be paid that much with the bonus. He had two consecutive wins in the match, knocking out Tom Nolan, riding on the decision against Mahesate Heisal, and felt “more free” in the type of performance he wanted, without feeling that his job was on the line.
“I’m way too competitive. We’re always looking to win,” Motta said. “But sometimes we are so worried about the future and the outcomes that we aren’t fighting that well. I think it helped us take away that anxiety without worrying too much about the outcome and the future.