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UFC strawweight Luana Pinheiro is still recovering from her last fight, which took place earlier this month. Aside from the normal bumps and bruises associated with entering the octagon, she suffered what can safely be referred to as a unique injury.
The Brazilian lost her fight at UFC Vegas 100 on November 9 against Gillian Robertson by unanimous decision and limped out of the octagon. She caught several 12-6 elbows, which have up until recently been illegal in the UFC, on her butt, including one directly to her anus.
The “disrespectful” shots, as Pinheiro refers to them as, took place at the end of the first-round with one of them, quite possibly the devastating elbow to the anus, taking place after the bell.
The elbows didn’t just leave the 31-year-old with a limp either. Pinheiro is still, weeks later, having trouble sitting down, and she’s not at all happy about it.
“I definitely felt it there. Excuse my language, but she elbowed my anus,” Pinheiro told Ag. Fight during a recent interview. “To me, that’s disrespectful. I’d never do that to another athlete. She’s a woman fighting there, you know? I’m there because she’s there, we’re chasing the same dream.”
She continued, “So, it’s only fair to respect your opponent. I think that was really disrespectful on her part. It’s not a move to submit or knock me out, it’s not like that. In my view she did it maliciously, with bad intentions. Not just during the round, but after the bell she did it again.”
Luana Pinheiro isn’t happy with Gillian Robertson after the disrespect elbows to the anus
It’s hard to argue with any of what Pinheiro has to say about the strikes. Keep them on the cheeks and before the bell. You start dropping elbows on the anus and, after the bell, then you can only view those as dirty and disrespectful shots.
“I’m on strong meds. Today’s the last day I’ll take them. I can’t sit without a cushion or bend my back. I can’t exert much force because I feel it there. At first, I couldn’t walk, cough, or laugh properly. Sneezing was agony, I felt like I was dying, you know?, Pinheiro added.
“It wasn’t the heat of the moment. She knew where she was hitting, you know?”
What are we doing here if elbows to the anus are legal strikes? These need to be reviewed. The UFC needs to do the right thing and keep the elbows on the cheeks.