Scott Coker: Bellator will cover ‘Cyborg’ Santos’ medical bills, pay him his win bonus

The top highlight from Saturday’s Bellator 158 event in London was unquestionably Michael Page’s flying knee KO win over Evangelista Santos, which sent “Cyborg” sprawling to the mat in incredible pain. In the aftermath of that vicious finish, it was revealed that the Brazilian veteran needed to have surgery on the fractured skull he suffered when Page’s knee slammed into his head.

"I’m under observation now, and will have surgery in the United States," Santos told MMA Fighting. "I had a serious injury, but Bellator is giving me all the support I need."

Bellator president Scott Coker told MMAjunkie that the promotion plans to do more than just cover his medicals.

“Bellator representatives have been present with him at the hospital throughout this process, and we are taking care of any medical bills that he incurs. In addition, we are going to go ahead and pay ‘Cyborg’ his win bonus to help him find a little extra comfort throughout his recovery process, which we hope is a speedy one.”

No details were given on how much Cyborg’s win bonus is, although typically the win bonus will match the show money. In his last fight, a TKO loss to Saad Awad in May, Cyborg had a reported $17,000 salary.

Evangelista’s ex-wife, Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Justino, established a GoFundMe to help Santos financially, as he “will be unable to work for sometime, and we are hoping to offer some assistance to him and his family during this difficult time.”

Page called for fans on Twitter to join him in donating to Santos’ GoFundMe, which has a target of $20,000 and was just about $1,500 short of reaching its goal at the time this article was written.