Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos took to social media on Wednesday, October 30 and confirmed what many, including Dana White, suspected.

Dos Anjos suffered a torn ACL on his 40th birthday and suffered a TKO loss to Geoff Neal as the injury did not allow him to continue.

The Brazilian veteran posted on his Instagram story“My ACL is gone guys. Going under the knife in the next few days. God’s plan.

The injury occurred in the first round of dos Anjos’ fight with Neal on October 26 at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. Neal was in complete control of the fight when the injury occurred.

He had already pulled off a clean knockdown, flooring dos Anjos with a punch moments before the latter’s knee buckled in a grappling exchange.

Although the TKO was technically caused by a knee injury, it seemed like Neal was previously on his way to victory.

At the post-event press conference, White was asked about dos Anjos’ injury, and he said it looked like he completely blew out his knee. Dos Anjos’ confirmation of White’s suspicions puts him in a difficult situation as a fighter.

Recovery will take months; at 40, the climb will be important for dos Anjos. Even before the injury, dos Anjos’ arrow was not pointing upwards. The Brazilian has now lost three fights in a row and has lost four of his last five.

He is sitting outside the Top 15 in the welterweight rankings, where he plans to finish his career, and is somehow ranked No. 15 at lightweight. The day after eight fighters on similar slips were cutmost of whom are younger than Dos Anjos, the former champion likely still has a spot on the roster due to his tenure and accomplishments.

Fighters like dos Anjos, who are advanced in age, have experienced a decline in their skills but still have some notoriety serve several purposes in the UFC. They can be placed on cards at different times during the show to add a bit of notoriety.

Older fighters can also act as guardians for newcomers. If the younger, less accomplished fighter beats a fighter like dos Anjos, he passes the proverbial test and adds a recognizable name to his resume. If they lose, the younger fighter falls off the track and their rise can be revisited later.

It will be interesting to see if dos Anjos will be willing and able to return to that role for the UFC or if he thinks he still has a chance to get back into title contention.

In his prime from 2012 to 2015, dos Anjos put together an impressive streak that saw him go 10-1. His only loss during that span was a unanimous decision loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2014.

During the run, dos Anjos defeated Anthony “Showtime” Pettis in March 2015 to become the lightweight champion, and he successfully defended the title against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone via first-round knockout eight months later. It was his second victory against Cerrone in three years.

If dos Anjos is done competing, he will finish his career with a 32-17 record and a resume worthy of enshrinement in the UFC Hall of Fame.