2 days Ago By Kyle Dimond
‘The Baltic Gladiator’ suffered what could have been a career ending injury inside the Octagon.Modestas Bukauskas has settled into the UFC’s light heavyweight division during his second run with the promotion where fans have watched him evolve.Now training alongside the likes of Tom Aspinall, the Lithuanian Londoner has gone 3-1 since returning to the Octagon in 2023 but this didn’t always look like it would be on the cards.
Bukauskas suffered one of the worst injuries that we have ever seen inside the Octagon back in September of 2021 where he faced Khalil Rountree.After collapsing to the floor following a devastating side kick to the knee, it looked like he might never fight again let alone compete at the highest level. READ MORE: Henry Cejudo knocked out UFC GOAT contender in 32 seconds to save his divisionKhalil Rountree 🇺🇸 huge finish September 4 2021 against Modestas Bukauskas 🇱🇹 #UFC #UFCVegas83 #UFCFightPass pic.
twitter.com/x6xaNBncO8— underdog para siempre (@Perrito06046799) December 9, 2023 Modestas Bukauskas overcame his injury and worked his way back to the UFC stronger than everIn an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour in 2023, Modestas Bukauskas revealed how multiple pre-existing injuries led to his loss to Khalil Rountree.His plan was to make it through this fight before getting the injuries urgently attended to but this ended up backfiring on ‘The Baltic Gladiator’.
“Essentially, the meniscus then tore off the bone and the ACL they said looked like a bit of tooth floss, they said it was literally hanging on the end and the MCL was completely gone as well. This is why my physio, when she went to see the operation, she said she’s never seen such an intricate operation because they had to do so many things to it but I had the best doctors in London. UFC, absolutely amazing, they covered the surgery so I was very grateful.
” Whilst recovering from surgery, Bukauskas also learned via a UFC roster tracker account on social media that he had been cut from the roster with his loss to Rountree being his third in a row.“I’d been going through probably the worst time in my life already just from that injury and having the third loss and I’d literally just gone from all my dreams coming true to all my dreams just crashing down and getting splattered in my face.” Incredibly, just over a year on from his injury at the UFC Apex, Bukauskas returned to competition in his former home of Cage Warriors where after back-to-back wins, he became a two-time light heavyweight champion in the promotion.
When the UFC needed a replacement opponent for Tyson Pedro at UFC 284 just two months after Bukauskas won the title, the 31-year-old got his second shot and capitalized on the opportunity by getting his hand raised via a unanimous decision.READ MORE: UFC’s ‘Hulk’ suffered one of the most controversial stoppages in MMA historyPhoto by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesModestas Bukauskas returns at UFC Seattle on February 22Modestas Bukauskas is in search of his fifth win inside the Octagon when he returns at the Climate Pledge Arena this Saturday night.After suffering a tough loss to Vitor Petrino in Brazil, he has since rebounded with a submission win over Marcin Prachnio at UFC 304 in Manchester last July.
Bukauskas will now take on Raffael Cerqueira who didn’t get the opportunity to showcase his skills during his UFC debut last October at UFC 308.The Brazilian was stopped in just 50 seconds by Ibo Aslan, who also returns on February 22 to take on Ion Cutelaba..
