UFC fighter Alex Oliveira told a Brazil TV station that he suffered minor injures in his hometown outside Rio de Janeiro when a group of attackers threw a grenade in his direction.

Oliveira told Brazil’s TV Rio Sul that the incident occurred when he left a Christmas Eve celebration with his family to go to a gas station. He said that while driving, he saw members of his family involved in an altercation.

Oliveira: Attackers tossed a grenade at him

When he got out of his car to investigate, he said that attackers threw a grenade in his direction and that shrapnel from the grenade got lodged in his leg.

Alex Oliveira told a news outlet in Brazil that he suffered minor leg injuries in a grenade attack on Christmas Eve. (Getty) More

“One guy came up and pointed a gun at my nephew’s face, and that’s when people started pushing each other,” Oliveira told TV Rio Sul. “They had machetes, knives, a grenade. They threw a grenade in my direction. Fragments flew to my leg and my foot.”

TV Rio Sul reports that Oliveira’s neighbors reported hearing a loud explosion. Oliveira said he went to a local emergency room to have the shrapnel removed.

Injury appears minor

He showed the TV station pictures of his bandaged leg, which did not show signs of significant injury. He also pointed to minor damage to his car that he said was caused by the explosive.

Oliveira, 30, last fought at UFC 231 in Toronto, losing to Gunnar Nelson via a second-round submission. The welterweight has a 19-6 MMA record.

More from Yahoo Sports:

• Alabama players to miss game over violations

• Robinson: Coach Williams has created a problem for Browns

• Redskins tolerate players’ legal issues, but not dissent

• Raiders put on show in potential Oakland swan song

