What’s the story?
Having an MMA career with 50 fights is by no means a small feat and a fighter’s life is always at risk of one small mistake. One such great veteran of the sport hung up his gloves on Tuesday.
Evangelista Santos, who was once married to Christiane “Cyborg” Justino, finally decided that 19 years of fighting is enough and has bid adieu to the sport.
In case you didn’t know...
Santos, popularly known as “Cyborg” like his former wife Justino who also goes by the same nickname, started his MMA journey when he was just 20 years of age. From his debut at PRIDE FC, Japan to his last fight against MVP at Bellator MMA, Santos has fought some great fights and made a name for himself in the world of fighting.
He was married to Justino “Cyborg” but the couple decided to part ways on December 2011.
The Heart of the Matter:
In March 2016, Santos signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator, starting with a victory over Brennan Ward, but his fight against MVP when he was hit with the now notorious flying knee resulting in frontal sinus fracture, literally marked the end of his career.
Having fought with the likes of Nick Diaz, Mauricio Rua, Gegard Mousasi and Francis Carmont, Santos has surely displayed his MMA skills to the world and entertained millions.
His parting words while speaking to Mmafighting were:
“I’m feeling really well, never felt anything (after the surgery), but I don’t think I will fight again. I don’t want to risk getting an aftereffect for the rest of my life and don’t be able to pass on my knowledge and give work to my family.”
What’s next?
As per reports, Santos would continue running Chute’s Boxing gym in Texas and head the Minas Gerais muay Thai federation.
Sportskeeda’s take:
Santos has two decades of experience and his knowledge of the game would be priceless for budding youngsters who wish to make a career in MMA. He should invest his time building future MMA Champions.
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