Nicholas Meregali sat down with Mundo da Luta and discussed his catastrophic ADCC shoulder injury and the public reaction that followed.
When asked about a vulnerable post he made in January comparing his physical shape and discussing his fears during recovery Nicholas Meregali went straight to the point about what happened on the mat that day.
“I hurt my shoulder. The gym came down for five minutes. It’s not like I lost it, I got up and left walking. I was on the floor for three minutes, my shoulder was out of the socket, the doctor was trying to put it in place, couldn’t. The guys had to take me out, take me to the corner, the hospital”
“And the guys were celebrating. It’s not that the guys didn’t see that there was a doctor on the tatami. People knew there was a doctor on the tatami, people knew there was an athlete on the floor. But for the guys it was, no, I’m not worried, he passed away, I’m going to celebrate his passing.”
He connected that reaction directly to social media culture.
“I think this is very linked to the social networks. If you stop and think, what is a social network? It’s a community where there is no effort and you receive dopamine without deserving it. The social network is a community of people who do not succeed. Period. The percentage of people who win in life is very low. As the mass likes to see people losing because they will feel a little more comfortable it is very good to see Nicholas lose and get hurt because in my perception I will bring Nicholas to my level. People celebrate this.”
He drew a clear line between those reactions and the responses he got from fellow competitors.
“It’s like the case of my injury, I got hurt. The guys from Jiu-Jitsu, oh, arrogance. The guys go to church, listen to speech and repeat it. And they have some mediocre lives. Every champion that I’ve even had a match with, the guys sent a message. Brother, it’s a pity what happened to you, it was an accident, you destroyed your shoulder, don’t listen to anyone, focus on you, recover and come back. And the guy I had a match with is my brother, he sent me a message.”
On the severity of the injury itself Nicholas Meregali was blunt about the statistics.
“This shoulder injury I had, it retired 85% of athletes. The rate is one of the highest rates we have in the sport. And man, I managed to beat that. Because I’m awesome.”
He closed the chapter on ADCC with a firm position on what the injury means to his record.
“What happened at the ADCC was a mere accident. And if people don’t agree, what makes the least difference for me is what repetitive numbers prove. I proved through repetition of victories in dominant ways against ADCC champions that I am the best in the world.”
Meregali’s UFC BJJ 7 appearance has been derailed. Earlier today he announced that due to injury he’s unable to compete against Declan Moody.
