“I just took an MRI of my knee yesterday. I completely tore my ACL,” Gurgel wrote. “If it was up to me, I still was planning on fighting. I am able to still move forward and box, and I am very confident in that and my cardio. But [the] Doctor and [my] coaches said, ‘No way in hell!’ So it’s off to surgery hopefully soon and back into training ASAP.”
Gurgel has won six straight contests, falling only once as a professional. Following her lone defeat at the hands of current Strikeforce 135-pound titlist Miesha Tate in March 2010, Gurgel defeated Rosi Sexton only months later to qualify for Bellator’s third-season tournament. Fighting at a lighter weight than ever before, Gurgel earned three wins in as many months to capture Bellator’s inaugural 115-pound championship.
Following her victories over Jessica Penne, Jessica Aguilar and Megumi Fujii, Gurgel was most recently successful in a non-title 125-pound scrap against Karina Hallinan, earning a unanimous decision for her efforts at Bellator 35 on March 5.
It is not currently known whether Bellator is seeking a replacement for Gurgel at Bellator 57 or if the organization will simply scrap the contest and potentially use Damm on a later date, as is common with late withdrawals.
Featuring the finals of the Chicago-based promotion’s fifth-season welterweight tournament, Bellator 57 will see Ben Saunders take on Douglas Lima at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario. The winner of that contest will be awarded a guaranteed title shot against the winner of Ben Askren’s upcoming title defense against Jay Hieron.