Nikolas Motta needed to go beneath the knife after a struggle with Nazim Sadykhov this previous month at UFC Baku in Azerbaijan. The light-weight duo gained $100,000 in bonus every for one of the best battle of the evening, however Motta returned dwelling with a second-round knockout loss and a broken jaw.
“I feel early in spherical two, I obtained hit with a cross and felt, ‘F*ck, that one harm,’” Motta instructed MMA Preventing. “I felt my tooth sort of shifting. I assumed it broke my tooth. After the battle we all the time need to go to the hospital for exams after you lose by TKO or KO, and once they did the examination it confirmed two fractures on my jaw.”
Motta was scheduled to return to Thailand after the occasion, the place the place he did his camp this time, however as a substitute travelled to Las Vegas to fulfill with a specialist and verify on the harm. Motta mentioned {that a} dentist defined {that a} cyst attributable to a knowledge tooth made his jaw extra fragile, which ultimately led to the fracture.
“It sucked, I couldn’t chew something,” Motta laughed. “So I got here to Vegas and had the surgical procedure.”
Picture by way of Nikolas Motta
Motta is predicted to have three different knowledge tooth eliminated in a few months, after which put together to begin a brand new coaching camp. The fighter mentioned that the restoration timetable for the jaw surgical procedure is eight week, and the knowledge tooth process ought to require every week off.
“He did the surgical procedure and put a titanium plate to get it again in place,” Motta mentioned. “Humorous factor is, Rafael dos Anjos despatched me an X-ray of his face and it’s filled with titanium plates. He mentioned, ‘Brother, I nonetheless turned champion after that.’”
The Brazilian light-weight joked he’s like “The Terminator” after the surgical procedure, and celebrates the $100,000 bonus now that he might be pressured to take a seat out for a while.
“My objective was to placed on one of the best efficiency of my life,” Motta mentioned. “Earlier than I walked out for the battle, I talked to my coach, ‘I’m getting a bonus now. How a lot do I’ve to pay you? Do I’ve to pay a share of the bonus?’ And he mentioned, ‘No, you don’t must.’ My supervisor was making enjoyable later, ‘Motherf*cker, Motta obtained me’ [laughs].”
Motta needs he had left UFC Baku with the win however doubts he would nonetheless be paid that a lot in bonus if that was the case. He was driving a two-fight successful streak going into that match, a knockout over Tom Nolan and a call in opposition to Maheshate Hayisaer, and felt “extra free” to placed on the kind of efficiency he wished with out feeling that his job was on the road.
“I’m too f*cking aggressive, we all the time need to win,” Motta mentioned. “However there are occasions the place we fear an excessive amount of concerning the future and the consequence and we find yourself not combating so properly. I feel that has helped me get that anxiousness away, not being too nervous concerning the consequence and the longer term. It sort of made me extra free to battle one of the simplest ways doable.”
