Priscila Cachoeira Headed for Knee Surgery, Defends Coach Not Throwing in the Towel
Priscila Cachoeira suffered a brutal beat down courtesy of Valentina Shevchenko this past Saturday night in one of the most lopsided fights to take place in the UFC in recent memory.
Cachoeira was bludgeoned by punches and elbows from Shevchenko throughout the first and second rounds before the fight was eventually finished by rear naked choke.
After the event was over, Cachoeira took to Instagram to reveal that she suffered a catastrophic knee injury in the opening round that will land her in surgery and likely out of action for the better part of a year while recovering.
“Those who know me and are around me on my day-to-day, know how I could have performed,” Cachoeira said in an Instagram post (translation courtesy of MMAJunkie). “And even having injured my knee early in the fight, I went until the end because I don’t know quitting. I will need surgery on my ACL and meniscus.”
While Cachoeira seems to be in good spirits despite the knee injury, she also responded to calls that her coach should have been willing to throw in the towel during the fight as she was being mauled by Shevchenko on the ground. When the fight was over, Shevchenko had out landed Cachoeira by a tally of 230 to 3 in total strikes.
Still, Cachoeira refuses to place any blame on her coach, who she defended in the past by also adding that if she had the chance to face Shevchenko again, she was jump at the opportunity just as she did for this fight in Belem, Brazil.
“I’d fight Valentina another 10 times without even thinking twice,” Cachoeira wrote. “Those who pick easy battles aren’t true warriors. And the treatment and the intimacy I have with my master… Those on the outside don’t know anything to criticize it. This isn’t master and student. It’s father and daughter. And no one will say how he’s supposed to treat me.
“And about throwing the towel: this is [Team] PRVT, and we’re the ones who know my limits. Throwing the towel, never. Thank you all for the messages of kindness and support I’ve been getting. I’m sure I have gotten a family for the rest of my life. And to those criticizing: I don’t give a damn, I will come back stronger. ‘A moment will not erase an entire history’”
While Cachoeira defended her coach not stopping the fight, UFC president Dana White unloaded on referee Mario Yamasaki for his part in allowing the action to continue despite the amount of punishment the Brazilian flyweight was taking.
Still it’s clear Cachoeira didn’t want the fight to stop, even if it was probably in her best interest.