The 33-second TKO defeat to Derrick Lewis at UFC 291 was not the only challenging aspect for heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima to endure.
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The 33-second TKO defeat to Derrick Lewis at UFC 291 was not the only challenging aspect for heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima to endure. While ‘Pezao’ was undoubtedly disappointed about losing before he could showcase his skills, what upset the Brazilian fighter even more was the reaction of some of his fans after the loss.
During an interview with Super Lutas, de Lima vividly described the impact of Derrick Lewis’ single knee strike to his face, highlighting the severity of the damage inflicted. However, de Lima expressed disappointment with the lack of support from his online followers. According to the Brazilian fighter, most of his fans did not send uplifting messages during a time when he was struggling to recover from the defeat.
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Lima expressed how much pain he endured from the defeat, particularly because of the way it unfolded. Before the fight, he sensed a good energy and felt confident. However, Lewis surprised him with a sudden knee strike, catching him off guard and leaving him unable to react effectively. The impact was severe, and Lima felt out of sorts when he hit the ground.
“It’s one thing when you lose while fighting. The way it was, it was really painful. We do this thing where you feel out the other guy’s energy before you start fighting. I was feeling great. I felt like he was a little apprehensive. I started out like I always do. He rushed me and I thought he was going to throw a Superman punch. I raised my guard and he threw the knee. I was kind of out when I fell down. It was a hard blow and I couldn’t react.”
“Now, there’s a lot of people sending me messages, e-mails. I’ve never received that many messages. I lost one fight and instead of supporting me, people from my country, my fans, are bothering me. I took a hard knee. My teeth are all loose. I can’t eat properly. It’s a hard moment. Let’s support our fighters and motivate them.”
In the eyes of Brazilian fans, support often comes abundantly when a fighter is victorious, but that backing can quickly diminish the moment a defeat occurs, even for less popular fighters like de Lima. Suffering a knee strike from Derrick Lewis is undoubtedly challenging, making the online treatment he has been receiving all the more hurtful. While not surprising, it still adds insult to injury for the fighter, as he is well aware of the fickleness of fan loyalty in the world of mixed martial arts.
It appears that some fans had high expectations for Pezao to secure a victory over Derrick Lewis and potentially contend for the heavyweight title, hoping to see Brazil produce another champion in that division since Werdum. However, personally, I never anticipated de Lima to be the one to fulfill that role at all.
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