Exclusive! Understand the injury that forced Marco Tulio out of UFC China

The MMA world was taken by surprise this Tuesday (5) with the news that Marco 'Matuto' Tulio ended up forced to leave the duel on Michael Pereira on the main card of UFC China, after failing to recover from surgery on the thumb of his right hand. In this context, SUPER LUTAS reached out to the fighter himself to explain the situation in greater detail.

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In an exclusive interview, the middleweight prospect (up to 83,9 kg) explained that the injury to his right thumb is an old problem, suffered at the beginning of his career and which resurfaced in the duel against tresean gore, held in April of this year.

"This is the second surgery I've had on this finger. I couldn't train, I didn't have the strength yet. I had 30% of my hand strength, and it still hurt a lot to do some harder training, both in terms of grapple, as for the gauntlet, or sparring. I was feeling it too much. So we sat down, talked, and decided it was best to postpone the return,” said Matuto.

tresean gore was tougher than a $2 steak tonight, but Marcus Tullius had a special performance. This guy is a prospect to watch at middleweight pic.twitter.com/DTKiMyTVxO

— Liam Picks Fights (@LiamPicksFights) April 13, 2025

According to Matuto, the initial surgery was necessary to repair a fractured finger and torn ligament. Since then, problems such as arthritis and osteoarthritis have also plagued the fighter. Despite the bad news, the athlete and his team expressed hope for Matuto's future in the UFC.

Marco Tulio is a UFC prospect

Marcus Tullius in victory against tresean gore. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram.

Despite not yet being ranked, Matuto is one of the division's top prospects. A member of the UFC since last year, the Minas Gerais native debuted in the organization after earning a contract through the Dana White Contender Series. He fought on the show twice, winning. Yousri Belgaroui and Matthieu Duclos.