UFC Vegas 106 fighter making triumphant return after ‘learning how to walk again’

Most combat followers are overlooking the Octagon return of Tainara Lisboa tomorrow night (Sat., Could 17, 2025) at UFC Vegas 106 LIVE on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, however the Brazilian prospect might be making her official comeback after a severe knee damage compelled her to “learn how to walk again.”

Lisboa, 34, made a profitable UFC debut again in Could 2023 with a powerful submission end over MMA veteran Jessica-Rose Clark. After that, the ladies’s bantamweight prospect ended up assembly Ravena Oliveira in late-2023, however she fought with a severe knee damage. Lisboa went on to defeat Oliveira through unanimous resolution to push her UFC file to 2-0, however she went proper into surgical procedure after that. She’s been sidelined ever since.

“It was very difficult,” Lisboa instructed MMA Fighting. “I may checklist the various difficulties I’ve confronted, however the concept of not with the ability to do what I’ve achieved my whole life was the toughest half. This damage left me near retiring. It was a take a look at surgical procedure. The physician made it fairly clear that it could possibly be profitable or not.

“Imagine going that whole process after finally arriving in the UFC and putting on two good performances. You’re living the dream, and all of a sudden you have no idea if you’re going to come back. And if I do go back, am I the same Tainara? Can I become the best Tainara I can be? That was very complicated.”

Lisboa, who fought seven instances from 2020-2023, went by means of a protracted and intensive restoration course of, which prompted a “leg thigh muscle atrophy of 2.3 inches.” The Brazilian fighter not solely needed to learn to stroll once more, however she ballooned up in weight and spent months and months off the mat. Ultimately it was all price it, however Lisboa’s return to UFC competitors was not a simple one.

“I couldn’t walk up stairs, for example,” Lisboa mentioned. “I learned how to walk again. There were moments I felt that was the end of the line for me, but I had a great team around me. Every time I was down, they picked me back up again. I started the toughest camp of my life on Dec. 2, 2023 not knowing the end result.”

Together with her knee damage up to now, Lisboa will make her third stroll to the Octagon this weekend at UFC Vegas 106 when she meets gifted bantamweight teenager Luana Santos on the “Prelims” undercard. If Lisboa can win in dramatic trend and push her UFC win streak to 3 she may land a prime 15 matchup her subsequent day out.

LIVE! Stream UFC Vegas 106 On ESPN+

WELTERWEIGHT CROSSROADS! Final Combating Championship (UFC) returns to is intimate APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., Could 17, 2025, with UFC Vegas 106. Former 170-pound title challenger, Gilbert Burns, collides with undefeated up-and-coming phenom, Michael Morales, in a blistering fundamental occasion scheduled for 5 rounds. In UFC Vegas 106’s co-main occasion, battle-hardened Paul Craig locks horns with surging Gentle Heavyweight, Rodolfo Bellato, setting the stage for an explosive showdown within the 205-pound division.

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

MMAmania.com will ship LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow protection of all the UFC Vegas 106 combat card RIGHT HERE, beginning with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, adopted by the remaining fundamental card steadiness on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.

To take a look at the newest and biggest UFC Vegas 106 information and notes be sure you hit up our complete occasion archive right here. For the up to date and finalized “Burns vs. Morales” combat card and ESPN+ lineup click on right here.