Home

UFC

‘Starts to ‘Kick’ Her Belly’ – UFC Star, Who Suffered a Nasty Forehead Injury, Goes Out of His Way to Pay a Glorious Tribute to Serena Williams

Published 09/21/2022, 1:17 PM EDT

Follow Us

USA Today via Reuters

Recently at the US Open, American tennis legend Serena Williams announced her retirement losing in the third round. After that, many tennis players and other sporting personalities paid homage to the great tennis player via social media.

Recently, UFC fighter Gregory Rodrigues paid the ultimate tribute to the tennis legend, as he named his unborn child ‘Serena’. Notably, Rodrigues recently took part in the UFC Vegas 60, where he made a fantastic comeback to win against Chidi Njokuani.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Gregory Rodrigues opens up about naming his daughter after Serena Williams

In a recent interview, Rodrigues praised Serena and said, (Serena) was the best ever. I already think it’s prophecy for my daughter too, and she’s going to love the name. When we say “Serena”, she already starts to “kick” her belly.” (Translated using Google Translate)

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest UFC stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Rodrigues also talked about watching the movie ‘King Richard’, the Oscar-nominated movie. My wife and I watched the Williams sisters movie, and it was awesome. When I was a kid, she was already playing, and I tied myself up. Two black women, who blew up,” he further said. 

It is worth mentioning that Rodrigues suffered a horrific injury during his match against Chidi Njokuani at UFC Vegas 60. He busted his forehead open after Njokuani landed a knee. Miraculously, he made a tremendous comeback in the match and knocked Njokuani out to get the win.

Serena teased a return to tennis

Earlier in August, Serena Williams wrote an essay in Vogue Magazine, where she announced that the US Open will be her final tournament. Later, in the US Open, she only managed to reach the third round and bid goodbye to the tennis world.

Watch This Story: Serena Williams once blasted ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou for ruining her chance to script history at the US Open

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Since retiring from professional tennis, she shifted her focus toward her family and other businesses. Recently, she appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show to promote her new children’s book. In that show, she teased about making a U-turn on her retirement like Tom Brady. She felt Brady started this trend and many players are following this. Even Serena’s husband Alexis Ohanian jokingly blamed Brady for this trend.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Although Serena did not directly talk about returning to tennis, many fans are hopeful after her recent statement. Some of them are hoping to see her at the Australian Open in 2023. Notably, Serena won her final Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open in 2017, which could be a lucky charm for her.

Will Serena return to tennis? Let us know in the comments.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Debkinkar Maity

1,494Articles

One take at a time

Debkinkar Maity is a Tennis Author at EssentiallySports. His desire to become a sports journalist inspired him to take up a degree in journalism and mass communication, and he hasn't looked back ever since. Following the sport for over a decade now, Debkinkar has an ardent love for Roger Federer.
Show More>

Edited by:

Tony Thomas