Nikolas Motta needed to go beneath the knife after a battle with Nazim Sadykhov this previous month at UFC Baku in Azerbaijan. The light-weight duo gained $100,000 in bonus every for the very best combat of the night time, however Motta returned house 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 type of shifting. I believed it broke my tooth. After the combat we all the time must 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 satisfy with a specialist and verify on the damage. Motta stated {that a} dentist defined {that a} cyst brought on by 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.”
Photograph through Nikolas Motta
Motta is predicted to have three different knowledge tooth eliminated in a few months, after which put together to start out a brand new coaching camp. The fighter stated that the restoration timetable for the jaw surgical procedure is eight week, and the knowledge tooth process ought to require per week off.
“He did the surgical procedure and put a titanium plate to get it again in place,” Motta stated. “Humorous factor is, Rafael dos Anjos despatched me an X-ray of his face and it’s filled with titanium plates. He stated, ‘Brother, I nonetheless grew to become 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 can be compelled to sit down out for a while.
“My aim was to placed on the very best efficiency of my life,” Motta stated. “Earlier than I walked out for the combat, 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 proportion of the bonus?’ And he stated, ‘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 using a two-fight profitable streak going into that match, a knockout over Tom Nolan and a call towards 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 wish to win,” Motta stated. “However there are occasions the place we fear an excessive amount of concerning the future and the end result and we find yourself not combating so properly. I feel that has helped me get that anxiousness away, not being too frightened concerning the end result and the longer term. It type of made me extra free to combat one of the simplest ways attainable.”