MMA fighter Richie ‘Vas’ Vaciluk out with elbow injury after gruelling UFC victory in NZ

MMA fighter Richie ‘Vas’ Vaciluk is back home after a gruelling UFC victory in New Zealand, but the win has come at a price.

MAROUBRA MMA fighter Richie ‘Vas’ Vaciluk is back home after his victory in UFC Fight Night 43 in New Zealand, but the win has come at a price.

Vaciluk, 31, injured his elbow during his unanimous points win over Filipino Roldan Sangcha-an on June 28 and will be out of the octagon for at least several months.

Richie Vaculik gets hold of Roldan ‘the executioner’ Sangcha-An during UFC Fight Night 43.

The flyweight said the injury meant he had to turn down an offer to fight in the UFC in Macau, China in August.

“I thought the elbow was just bruised, but it turns out it was a grade three tear of the medial collateral ligament of the elbow,” said Vaciluk.

“The doctors say it will be 4 to 6 weeks before I can train properly.”

“I was looking forward to fighting again soon, but it was worth it to get my first UFC win,” he said.

Vaculik takes Sangcha-An to the ground.

Vaciluk made his UFC debut in December 2013, but lost to American Justin Soggins by TKO in the first round. He has a four fight contract with the UFC and said the defeat sharpened his focus in a way nothing else could.

“The training camp in the 10 weeks leading up to the New Zealand fight was more intense than anything I have done before,” Vaciluk said.

Judges at the Vector Arena in Auckland awarded the fight to Vaciluk after three, scrappy and intense rounds against the undefeated Sangcha-an, nicknamed ‘the executioner’.

Vaciluk said he didn’t feel the injury during the fight and looking back at tapes couldn’t pinpoint how it happened.

Mixed Martial Arts fighter Richie Vaculik back home at Maroubra Beach. Picture: John Appleyard

The former big wave surfer, who was a contestant on the television series, The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes in 2012 and featured in documentary Fighting Fear, has made the most of his injury time.

Bra Boy Richie Vaciluk Hits up the Ultimate Fighter: Australia v UK

“I have been surfing, staying active and proposed to my girlfriend on the spur of the moment when we were down the coast,” he said.

“Some of my training partners are preparing to fight and its disappointing I can’t help them get ready, but it’s good not to have to watch what I eat for a while.”