While people have been talking about Alex Pereira making his return at UFC 313, another Brazilian contender is making his return as Gregory Rodrigues returns for another middleweight clash at UFC Fight Night 251. With three wins on the trot, ‘Robocop’ will be butting heads against former title contender Jared Cannonier with a chance to break into the top 10.

Gregory Rodrigues, meanwhile, needs no introduction. Being one of the consistent performers in the division, ‘Robocop’ not only showcased a great ground game but has made it more than clear that he can knock people out on any given day, which is very evident from his record. The Brazilian native, who turns 33 on February 17, is pretty high on confidence with his last few successful outings. But before we get to that fight in just a matter of hours, let’s take a look at the time when Gregory Rodrigues suffered a major roadblock in his UFC run. This was, of course, a serious injury. Here’s what we know.

What happened to Gregory Rodrigues?

Chidi Njokuani vs. Gregory Rodrigues was without a doubt one of the most brutal fights in recent memory. The pair clashed against each other in 2022, which marked the return of Rodrigues at UFC Vegas 60. ‘Robocop’ started the fight on the back foot as a brutal knee from Njokuani busted open his skull. The Brazilian suffered a massive cut between his eyes and bled profusely.

Most of the fans felt that the fight would be called off as the cut was very massive. However, the 32-year-old kept his composure and stayed in the fight. Between the first and the second round, the cutman worked frantically to keep ‘Robocop’ in the fight. But it was very evident that if the bleeding worsened, it would be the end of the clash.

What followed was something quite extraordinary as Rodrigues pulled off the comeback of the year. ‘Robocop’ capitalized on the sloppy mistakes made by Njokuani in the second round and knocked him out! The 32-year-old later went on to admit that he indeed was in a lot of trouble because of the knee, but managed to keep his composure. Gregory Rodrigues left the Octagon with a memorable scar and his head held high.

UFC CEO Dana White later went on to share the images of the injury on his social media with a caption, “Insane Cut but healed great”. Thankfully, the consequences weren’t as serious as the fans thought, and he healed perfectly. But what exactly did the 32-year-old feel during the injury? Let us find out.

Rodrigues talks about his gruesome injury

Gregory Rodrigues can consider himself one of the luckiest fighters in the UFC. After nearly cutting open his forehead, ‘Robocop’ managed to win the fight. However, the experience of suffering the cut was not a pleasant one. Rodrigues, while speaking to MMA Junkie, shared how his corner helped him come out of the situation. While he did agree to be in trouble after the knee, his team gave instructions, which helped him calm down and win the fight. He said, “I was dizzy, it was very hard,” 

He further added, “I fell, I was a little like, ‘Man, what happened?’ And then the blood started to come down and I was kind of blind, trying to figure out what I’m going to do. But, like I said, I want to say thank you to my corner, my trainers. They did an amazing job. They started talking with me, and I was like, ‘No, no, no. Let me calm down.’ And I started hearing, ‘Move the legs!’ And stuff like that. And then I tried and then I [went] back, then I thought, ‘Man, I need to start something.”

Meanwhile, Dana White was seriously taken aback by the aftermath of the UFC Vegas 60 co-main event and decided to let others know about the condition of Gregory Rodrigues.

Dana White shares an image of the brutal cut

UFC fights can get brutal sometimes, but the degree of severity was imminently high when it came to Gregory Rodrigues. When Dana White decided to share some snaps of the aftermath of his fight against Chidi Njokuani on his Instagram stories, it appeared that the Brazilian fighter’s gruesome cut had been stitched up. Fans managed to keep screenshots from before the UFC’s Instagram story expired, and they all had the same feelings of worry for Rodrigues.

The Brazilian seems to be a strong-willed athlete because he’d bounce back from that injury in a pretty big way and start racking up consecutive wins on the trot. His victory against Njokuani proves the fact that the middleweight fighter is a tough individual, like many other Brazilian fighters on the roster, and can win under any circumstance.

But the real question is – will Gregory Rodrigues be able to keep his winning momentum going at UFC Fight Night 251? Let us know in the comments below.