It would be the dream of any MMA athlete to participate in the May 21st Elite XC show, when an MMA event will be broadcast live on network television (CBS) in the United States to over 30 million people. Unfortunately for Murilo Ninja, the only Brazilian on the event’s historic card, the dream turned into a nightmare.
An injury to his foot during training caused the Southern Brazilian fighter to contact the organization to cancel his fight against American fighter Phil Baroni. Besides missing his chance of putting himself at the top of the list of challengers for the belt belonging to Robbie Lawler, Mauricio Shogun’s older brother will also be set back for this event being considered the biggest of all times in terms of market and sponsorship for fighters.
In a chat with GRACIEMAG.com, Ninja showed his experience as a fighter in making it clear he will not be put off, and he will be back shortly.
“I hurt my foot training, it’s very swollen and I can’t step properly. I’ll be going to the doctor tomorrow, I don’t think it’s too serious, but I should go 15 to 20 days without training. It would surely have been the most important fight of my life, as it will be seen by over 30 million people, a landmark for MMA. I was very sad, but all I can do is get back to training for my next fight when I can. Sooner or later I’ll face Baroni, as this will be a good fight. EliteXC treated me really well and gave me all the support it could, also saying they will try and fit me in the next event. Soon I’ll be fighting,” said the Universidade da Luta athlete.
