UFC’s return to Sacramento, California, delivered a violent night of action. Of the 13 fights on the card, 10 ended inside the distance, while the bouts that went to the judges still produced plenty of damage. Unsurprisingly, several fighters were left dealing with injuries after pushing themselves to the limit inside the Octagon.

One of the most concerning scenes came after the main event, when Gregory Rodrigues was seen struggling to walk following his decision victory over Anthony Hernandez in their middleweight bout. Shortly after the fight, videos showed ‘Robocop’ limping toward a walking boot while using the railings for support before eventually being taken away in a wheelchair. The Brazilian later appeared in the wheelchair during the Paramount+ post-fight show.

“There is the wheelchair moment,” Megan Olivi remarked on seeing Rodrigues. “I cannot believe we are rolling on that, poor Robocop. But listen, he did what he had to do.”

The 34-year-old has been in countless wars in the UFC against some of the best competition. ‘Robocop’s face has been cut open, and he has even been knocked out before. However, this appears to be the first time the Brazilian powerhouse has had to be escorted out in a wheelchair.

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The sight of Rodrigues in a wheelchair was particularly surprising because Hernandez did not appear to target his opponent’s legs with kicks throughout the fight. Rodrigues also did not publicly disclose the exact nature of his injury immediately afterward.

That has led to speculation that the Brazilian’s own relentless leg-kicking attack may have contributed to the problem.

As per ESPN Stats, Rodrigues landed 24 out of 26 leg kicks against Hernandez, which is almost Alex Pereira-level spamming of leg kicks. If Hernandez checked at least 10 of them, that alone could be enough to cause some severe pain. For this reason, it’s not too hard to imagine that Rodrigues’ insane volume of leg kicks could be the reason behind him being unable to walk. However, he’s definitely not the first one to do so.

Before him, a similar instance occurred at last year’s UFC Paris, when Kaui Fernandes’ leg kicks ended up taking a toll on his opponent, Harry Hardwick, in the very first round, giving the Brazilian a TKO victory. The Englishman was taken out of the Accor Arena in a wheelchair. Plus, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman also needed a wheelchair after Brad Tavares’ leg kicks left him injured at UFC 292. 

Following ‘Robocop’s injury after a back-and-forth war with Anthony Hernandez, reports of other fighters who were involved at UFC Sacramento also started emerging. 

Anthony Hernandez and Lerryan Douglas also suffered injuries at UFC Sacramento 

Alongside Gregory Rodrigues, his opponent for the night, Anthony Hernandez also ended up injuring his leg. Multiple videos emerged of the Mexican-American limping out of the arena, struggling to maintain his stability.

“Anthony Hernandez leaves with an injured leg after his defeat at #UFCSacramento 😔🥊,”  Razed MMA posted on X.

Tonight, the 32-year-old’s legs took some severe punishment. He not only absorbed Rodrigues’ relentless leg kicks, but was also knocked down three times, with at least two of them coming via the Brazilian’s prodigious kicks. So, it’s understandable that Hernandez would limp his way out of the Golden 1 Center. However, the specifics of his injury are yet to be revealed.

After him, another fighter also endured an injury, and it was probably the most significant one at UFC Sacramento. In the prelims, Lerryan Douglas ended up fracturing his orbital bone and sustained a loss of vision following his first-round knockout loss against underdog fighter Jamall Emmers.

“Lerryan Douglas had a fractured orbital and instantly lost vision in that eye,” UFC legend Cub Swanson posted on X. “He is ok, and I’m glad he didn’t take more damage. We’ll know more after he sees a specialist this week. Thanks for all the support.”   

During the fight, Emmers kept targeting Douglas with haymakers, most of which he managed to dodge. However, Emmers made a quick switch in his punching pattern, and a well-timed 1-2 combination sent Douglas crashing to the canvas. In that case, the fight-ending combination seems to be the one that caused the actual damage. The incident mirrors how Justin Gaethje landed a similar combination in the fourth round against Ilia Topuria, which broke his orbital bone. 

With UFC Sacramento producing so many finishes, the physical toll was always likely to be significant. Rodrigues’ wheelchair exit, Hernandez’s apparent leg injury, and Douglas’ reported orbital fracture were among the most notable injury developments from the event.