‘Cyborg’ Santos: ‘I’ll be back in 6 months’ after fracturing skull
By José Youngs
‘Cyborg’ Santos not only expects to make a full recovery from his fractured skull, he also has a timetable for when he wants to plans on returning to the cage
The image of Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos’ fractured skull is enough to make any man wince.
The gruesome injury occurred when Santos (21-18) was crushed between the eyes by a flying knee, courtesy of Michael Page (11-0 MMA) in the second round of their welterweight fight at Bellator 158 this past weekend. “Cyborg” immediately collapsed to the canvas, clutching his face down as he writhed in pain.
One day later, his ex-wife, Invicta FC champ featherweight champion Cristiane Justino, took to her social media accounts to share the aftermath of the devastating knockout. The image of Santos, with a visible dent his forehead, alongside the x-ray of the fracture skull quickly made the rounds on the internet.
“Fight fans Please say a prayer for my Ex husband Cyborg Santos,” wrote Justino. “Many of you watched him fight on Spike TV this weekend when he suffered this injury while fighting in London. Cyborg is still in the hospital in the UK, and they are not sure when he will be able to fly again.
“He has not had surgery yet and their is worry the brain can continue to swell causing more damage. Click The link In My bio to donate to his GoFundMe and support him and his family at this time. Thank you God for your protection, The doctor said this very easily could have been life threatening. Please show your support for the fighters and share!”
As of this article, the GoFundMe page has garnered ver $21,000 worth of donations.
But according to Santos, his injury looks far worse than it actually is
“Cris is crazy,” Santos told MMAJunkie. “People exaggerate. I’m fine. I’m at my hotel. I’m feeling fine. I chose not to go to the hospital (in London). I opted to have my surgery in Houston. I’m fine. Nothing happened. I wasn’t knocked out.
“I only felt the pain from the fracture. At no time did I have any symptoms like convulsions or dizziness. It wasn’t a knockout. It was a fracture. It didn’t affect my brain. Everything is OK. People are crazy. I don’t need anything. At no time did Bellator refuse to help me. ”
Santos would on to reveal he not only expects to make a full recovery but already has a timetable for when he wants to plans on returning to the cage.
“The good side is that now I’ll make justice to my nickname of ‘Cyborg,’” said Santos. “I’ll be back in six months. Nothing happened to me. I’m whole, 100 percent. At no time did I lose consciousness. I’ve been knocked down by strikes before.
“I know what that feels like. This was simply a matter of pain from the fracture. Nothing was affected as far as my brain. And now my head will be harder than ever. I’ll be a cyborg, literally. Thank you for everyone’s concern.”
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