GOIANIA, Brazil — Undefeated in the UFC as a welterweight, Sergio Moraes was forced to pull out of his bout with Zak Cummings on Nov. 30 at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale.
The jiu-jitsu expert, who was last seen inside the Octagon in a first-round submission victory over Neil Magny at UFC 163, suffered an injury in his left knee and decided to postpone his return to the UFC.
“I hurt my knee and tried to continue training, but I was in pain every time I started to train,” Moraes told MMAFighting.com. “When I did the MRI, the doctor told me I had torn the meniscus. My coach and managers decided to pull out of the fight. We need to respect my opponent and I can’t get there if not at 100 percent.”
Moraes (8-2) won’t be able to fight anytime soon, but is confident that his body will react well after another knee surgery.
“I have two injuries in the same knee, but it’s a simple surgery,” he said. “I had surgery in the other knee before, too. The knee that was bad is good now, and the one that was good is bad (laughs).
“Let’s buy a new knee and go back in there as soon as possible. I’ll implant some adamantium so I won’t break anymore (laughs).”
Moraes is 2-0 at 170 in the UFC, with a pair of submission victories over Magny and Renee Forte. In his Octagon debut, in the middleweight division, Moraes suffered a unanimous decision loss to Cezar Ferreira at TUF: Brazil finale, on June 2012.