‘Cyborg’ Santos suffers fracture skull during bout

By ADAM HILL LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

9 years ago

April 22, 2016; Uncasville, CT, USA; Evangelista Santos (blue tape) reacts after defeating Brennan Ward (not pictured) during Bellator 153 welterweight bout at Mohegan Sun Arena. Evangelista defeated Ward via first round submission. Anthony Nesmith/Cal Sport Media (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

Michael Page was the talk of social media after he celebrated his victory over welterweight Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos by catching an invisible Pokemon in reference to a wildly popular mobile game Saturday on a Bellator card in London.

Must See MVP TV tonight on @spike 9/8c#Bellator158 #PokemonGo @MichaelPage247 https://t.co/VI5PYAgrhT

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) July 16, 2016

By Sunday, it was the injury suffered by his opponent that had captured the attention of the mixed martial arts world.

Santos suffered a fractured skull as a result of the devastating jumping knee that ended the fight at 4:31 of the second round.

His ex-wife, Cris “Cyborg” Justino, shared an x-ray image of the horrific injury on Instagram.

“(Santos) is still in the hospital in the UK and they are not sure when he will be able to fly again,” she wrote. “He has not had surgery yet and there is worry the brain can continue to swell causing more damage.”

Fight fans Please say a prayer for my Ex husband Cyborg Santos. Many of you watched him fight on Spike TV this weekend when he suffered this injury while fighting in London. Cyborg is still in the hospital in the UK, and they are not sure when he will be able to fly again. He has not had surgery yet and their is worry the brain can continue to swell causing more damage. Click The link In My bio to donate to his #GoFundMe and support him and his family at this time. Thank you God for your protecion, The dr said this very Easily could have been life threatening. Please show your support for the fighters and share!Fãns de luta façam uma prece para o meu ex marido Cyborg Santos ,muitos de vocês assistiram ontem a luta dele na Spike TV,onde ele sofreu este ferimento enquanto lutava em Londres ,ele ainda está no hospital e não tem certeza quando ele vai poder voar de volta pra casa, @bellatormma é responsável por todo procedimentos médicos que ele precisar para resolver este problema porém ele não vai poder trabalhar por um tempo e nós vamos arrecadar ajuda pra ele através do #gofundme para os fãs patrocinarem ele e sua família nesta hora difícil, Obrigada Deus por sua proteção!! O medico disse que ele poderia estar em risco de vida,mostrem seu apoio aos lutadores e compartilhem isto!!! No meu Perfil do Instagram esta esta o link ajudar! #GodToGlory #figtherlife #teamcyborg #evangelistacyborgsantos #bellator158 #London Spanish

A photo posted by CRISTIANE V JUSTINO (@criscyborg) on Jul 17, 2016 at 9:54am PDT

Page improved to 11-0, with just one fight going the distance.

Also on the card, former welterweight champion Douglas Lima emerged as the top contender in the division with a unanimous decision win over Paul Daley and Matt Mitrione improved to 2-0 in Bellator with a second-round knockout of Oli Thompson.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj