Rafael dos Anjos nearly retired after three surgeries: ‘Man, this is it’

Rafael dos Anjos claims multiple surgeries forced his long hiatus.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder returns to the Octagon after nearly two years against Alexander Hernandez at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Brazilian suffered a 90-second stoppage loss after injuring his left knee in his last outing against Geoff Neal in October 2024.

Rafael dos Anjos details the knee surgeries that threatened his UFC career

In a recent interview, dos Anjos revealed that he has since undergone three surgeries on his left knee. A doctor in Brazil initially stitched up his meniscus, which apparently was a big mistake. He again tore his meniscus after a few months and underwent surgery in Austin, Texas, in the U.S.

However, the American doctor allegedly left some stitches inside dos Anjos’ knee, which subsequently led to inflammation. The former champ then went under the knife for the third time earlier this year. He admits that the thought of hanging up his gloves has crossed his mind in the meantime. However, the 41-year-old notes that he hasn’t been dominated in his losses and wants to give it one more shot.

“I had three surgeries back-to-back,” dos Anjos told Ariel Helwani. “After the Geoff Neal fight, I had meniscus surgery, and the doctor in Brazil made a mistake. He actually tried to stitch up my meniscus, which was a terrible mistake. Four or five months after the surgery, my meniscus tore again, so I had to redo it. I had to have the meniscus removed, and the doctor in Austin, Texas, left a couple of stitches inside my knee, believe it or not. It was causing inflammation. I couldn’t get full extension, and then I had surgery for the third time at the beginning of this year. For a second, I thought, ‘Man, this is it.’ But looking at my results, I’m coming from losses, but I haven’t been dominated. I want to give it a chance. I still have four more fights on my contract.”

Now healthy, dos Anjos (32-17) will look to rebound from a three-fight skid against Hernandez (18-9), who is coming off a loss against Rafa Garcia that snapped a four-fight winning streak.

This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com

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