I know heavyweight is thin, but is anyone else surprised to see Gabriel Gonzaga back in the Octagon so soon?
His last fight against Jordan was really terrible to suffer through. Has he done something since then that warrants a call back, or is the UFC just unable to find a reasonable Heavyweight?
SMAC
Gonzaga had a lot of personal trauma leading up to his UFC debut, he's a great grappler and is definately capable of better. Perhaps Zuffa would have been wise to just show the highlights from that fight with Jordan, it was terrible.
Gonzaga's wife nearly died in childbirth in the weeks prior to the event. She was carrying twins, one of which didn't survive.
He's got a statement here:
http://www.news.adcombat.com/article.html?id=10236
Here's an excerpt:
"With seven months of pregnancy gone by, we had to make an emergency child birth. God reserved a place on his side to one of my daughters (Leticia) and he gave us the gift of a beautiful girl named Isabela (who stayed in the incubator for a month and five days to gain some weight). Now she is at home with my wife and I thank God for it.
With all of this taking place, I arrived in Massachusetts 12 days prior to the UFC 56 fight and I didn't have the time to prepare properly. I couldn't tell the organizers and promoters of UFC (who trusted my potential) that I would have to cancel 10 days before the show."
TH
Fred Ettish had a great post about this right when it happened:
"I had to bury my newborn son almost 10 yrs ago. There is no way to explain the pain, the loss, the devastation, the desperation, the anger, the emptiness, the confusion. It wrecked me for a very long time, and I am convinced now, after all this time, that you never really "get over it". I can not imagine going into the biggest fight/opportunity of my life under those circumstances. It was all I could do to just get through a day, sometimes even just an hour. If you have not gone through it, there is no way you can understand. Anyone who disrespects Gonzaga or makes light of what he went and is going through is way out of line, in my opinion.
My best wishes, prayers, and greatest respect go out to Gonzaga and his family.
Respectfully:
Fred"
Thanks everyone for bringing this to my attention. I hope he does well in his return to the octagon!