Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight contender Alex Oliveira suffered injuries to his leg and foot last night when he was caught in the blast of a thrown grenade.
According to Brazilian news site Globo, “Cowboy” was home for the holidays in Tres Rios, a small town near Rio de Janeiro and was driving to a gas station to fuel up his mother’s car when he saw several members of his family involved in an altercation. Oliveira stopped to investigate, and moments later a grenade was thrown in his direction.
“One guy came up and pointed a gun at my nephew’s face, and that’s when people started pushing each other,” Oliveira said. “They had machetes, knives, a grenade. They threw a grenade in my direction. Shrapnel hit my leg and my foot.”
Oliveira traveled to a local emergency room where doctors removed shrapnel from his leg before discharging him, then went to the police to file a report.
Oliveira (19-6-1, 1 N/C) competed most recently at UFC 231 earlier this month, where he lost to Gunnar Nelson via second-round rear-naked choke after having a huge gash opened in his forehead by an elbow strike.