Rafael dos Anjos, who recently turned 40, suffered a knee injury during his UFC 308 fight against Geoff Neal, marking a tough birthday and extending his winless streak, while Neal secured a victory to improve his record.
Rafael dos Anjos just hit the big 4-0 this past Saturday. But, his celebration in Abu Dhabi was cut short due to a knee injury during his UFC 308 welterweight bout with Geoff Neal. Ouch!
He’s on a three-fight losing streak now. Can you believe it? Winless for almost two years! The former UFC lightweight champ is bummed he might need surgery, which would delay his return to the octagon. He’s still not sure what exactly went wrong at UFC 308 though.
“I think it was on my second kick,” dos Anjos shared in a video on social media. “Me and Neal kicked at the same time, and I felt a big snap, a big pop behind my knee.” Sounds painful, right? Surprisingly, it’s only the second time he’s been hospitalized after a fight in his whole UFC career. That’s quite something in such a brutal sport!
Back in August 2010, dos Anjos had to undergo surgery after fracturing his jaw against Clay Guida. Now, with a 21-15 record under the UFC banner and 7-9 since losing his title in 2016, he insists he’s not ready to hang up his gloves just yet.
“Definitely not how I wanted to celebrate my 40th birthday,” dos Anjos wrote elsewhere. “It was a tough loss. Time to heal up and enjoy family. I’m not done yet; I’ll be back soon. God bless you all.”
Meanwhile, Geoff Neal snapped out of his own funk with this win over dos Anjos. He was coming off back-to-back losses to Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry but now boasts an octagon record of 8-4. He’s got some impressive victories under his belt too—stopping guys like Vicente Luque, Mike Perry, and Niko Price—and even owns a decision win over current champ Belal Muhammad from their 2019 showdown.
And there you have it! A rollercoaster ride of emotions and events in the world of MMA!