This edition of the MMAInjury Update is a testament to one of my favorite quotes. “Injuries are a fighter’s constant companion.” Today, I take a look at three fighters who have recently or will soon undergone surgery, and will no doubt be away from the cage for a protracted period of time.
Amir Albazi
The UFC flyweight fighter recently announced that he has withdrawn from his scheduled February bout vs Brandon Moreno. In a video message, he revealed that he has had a chronic issue with his cervical spine that has progressed to a point where his spinal cord is now compromised, and he must have surgery. Below is a screen capture from that video, showing an MRI of his cervical spine.
The red arrow shows an area of compression of the spinal cord, and this appears to involve the disc between the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae. As I look at this image, there also seems to be compression to the anterior spinal cord extending down a couple of segments as well.
Spinal cord compression can lead to a myriad of problems, including numbness and other paresthesia of the arms, and more concerning, motor weakness. The specifics of the surgical procedure he will have are not known. If he has a fusion surgery, this will eliminate movement at this segment. At the C3-4 level, a fusion could limit the amount of left/right rotation of Amir’s head and neck. Amir seems to post openly on his social media outlets, so I expect an update once the surgery is completed. (Shameless plug. I wrote an article in 2022 about Aljamain Sterling, who had an interesting neck surgery. Check it out below if you wish.)
Jan Blachowicz
Blachowicz was scheduled to fight Aleksandar Rakic in a light heavyweight bout this month, but withdrew due to injuries to both shoulders. He recently had surgery on the left shoulder, and is well into his rehab program. He indicated that he is scheduled for surgery on his right shoulder sometime in March. Jan is a 40 year old fighter with chronic problems in both shoulders.
I don’t expect him back in the Octagon before November or December, but when he does return, I will have a keen interest in his fight. On one hand, the potential is there for us to start seeing a decline in his fighting ability, given his age and injuries. On the other, the extended time away from fighting, coupled with total body rehabilitation could have a rejuvenating effect on a fighter his age.
The more I type, the more I am excited for his return!
Julia Avila
“Raging Panda” made her return from a long injury absence last month, suffering a submission loss to Miesha Tate. Prior to this fight, she had surgery for a torn left ACL and meniscus injury that had kept her sidelined since June of 2021. (She also gave birth to her child during this absence.)
In the Tate fight, Julia suffered another knee injury, this time an ACL tear in the right knee. I asked her via an Instagram post if she could confirm it was an ACL injury, which she did. She went on to comment that it was an isolated injury, with no meniscus involvement. She is well into her rehab now, and if all goes well I expect that she could fight again sometime in December this year, possibly November. The UFC returns for 2024, with the first card coming from the Apex in Las Vegas on January 13th.
And finally…
Gabriel Benitez fights Jim Miller at today’s UFC Vegas 84, the first UFC fight card of 2024.
He was first scheduled to fight Miller in February of 2023, but withdrew due to an undisclosed injury. This rescheduled fight will be his first since an August 2022 win vs Charlie Ontiveros. While nothing is known about the injury that has kept him sidelined so long, it is hard to forget what happened to his left shin in his 2020 fight vs Omar Morales. It was a gruesome gash that extended to the bone. (WARNING: An unedited picture of this injury follows. Close your eyes and scroll if you don’t want to see it. You have been warned.)
Julia Avila suffered what is called a contralateral ACL injury, meaning that she tore the ACL in one knee, and later on suffered the same injury in the opposite (contralateral) knee. One study from 2012 suggests that female athletes are 6 times more likely to suffer a contralateral injury than male athletes. Here's a link to that study. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4168893/