UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva retained his division title by destroying 185-pound number one contender Yushin Okami at the UFC 134: "Rio" pay-per-view event from the HSBC Arena back on Aug. 27 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
And he did it with a bum shoulder.
"The Spider," widely-considered one of the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artists on the planet, talks to Veja.com about getting roughed up by Brazilian heavyweight Junior dos Santos:
"A month before the fight, I hurt my shoulder training with Junior dos Santos and stepped in feeling pain in Rio. I had to take painkillers and advised the Athletic Commission about the medicine I took. I talked to my doctors a lot. I did MRI right after and began to feel pain on the shoulder and the medics released me. They told me that was not too bad. It is a small lesion, in manguito (rotador) muscle I think, but it bothers me. I will take some time resting to do the treatment."
Brazil has no regulatory commission, therefore, Zuffa conducted its own drug testing and medical examinations for the fighters competing at UFC 134.
Despite the pain in his shoulder, Silva was not among the handful of fighters included on the list of UFC 134 medical suspensions released early last week.
Then again, it's hard to bench a competitor for "precautionary reasons" when they look downright invincible.
But is there a bigger issue here?
Anyone raising a red flag after Silva's admission to taking painkillers so close to fight night -- in a country with no regulatory body?
Or is this much ado about nothing?
Let's hear your take on this news, Maniacs. Are you more impressed with Silva that he performed so spectacularly while suffering from a painful injury? Or would you expect nothing less from the sport's top fighter?
Opinions, please.
(Translation provided by MMAmania.com Brazilian corespondent Eduardo Cruz.)