Philipe Lins Says Bellator Stood By Him During Two-Year Hiatus

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Philipe Lins (9-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) spoke about his two-year hiatus from MMA and revealed that Bellator stood by him during that time. In July 2014, he suffered a torn ACL less than two mnutes into his Bellator 122 fight with Kelly Anundson and hasn’t competed since. He returns at Bellator 159 with a fight against Guilherme Viana (7-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA). Here are highlights:

On the ACL injury and hiatus: “Before the fight my knee was bothering me a little, and during the fight, it tore all the way. Iwas very ready, but unfortunately that’s what happened. It happens in our sport. That fight was in July of 2014. By September, I had surgery to rebuild my ACL. I then started rehabbing. Bellator scheduled me in September of 2015. But one-month prior, I contracted dengue (fever). It comes from the bite of a mosquito we have in Brazil. Dengue attacks the joints. My knee started to become inflamed. I had to cancel. By December, I was training again. I’ve been getting for my next battle since then. It’s been two years, but thankfully I’m well now, 100 percent recovered. (Bellator) kept waiting for me to be ready to fight. They were by my side. It was great. I’m going to put on another show for fans of MMA.”

On experiencing longer breaks: “I didn’t fight from 2006 to 2011, for five years, because my family didn’t like it, and also because I became discouraged. Around that time, I found a job and finished my high school studies. I kept training for fitness and because I enjoyed it, but not professionally. Then in 2011, I came back and fought in Brasília. I hurt my hand in that fight but didn’t address it. I kept on training. Then in 2013 later I came back and won two fights in a row at Bitetti Combat, becoming their champion.”

On being back: I’m happy to be back fighting – it’s something I’ve done since I was a kid. I’ll keep going after my goal, which is to be the Bellator champion. I’m back. … I have the best expectations. I’ll win by knockout or submission. And as far as my time away from fighting, I already had experienced that, and I don’t think it will influence much.”