Manager Ali Abdelaziz has an update for all the Doubting Thomases questioning the timing or Kayla Harrison’s surgery.
UFC fans are mad at women’s bantamweight champion, Kayla Harrison, for bailing on former division titleholder, Amanda Nunes, in the UFC 324 co-main event. Hey, I get it, it’s disappointing when a big fight gets canceled two weeks before a show.
But it would be even more disappointing to learn the Olympian was paralyzed because she was too proud to withdraw and get the neck surgery necessary to save her career.
And perhaps her ability to walk.
“The UFC flew her to New York and the doctor said immediately she needs to get surgery, because if she doesn’t get surgery, this can paralyze her,” manager Ali Abdelaziz told Submission Radio. “The disc [was] pushing on the spinal cord. But then I’m going to tell you something, immediately after the surgery, all the pain is gone.”
Harrison, 35, ”couldn’t lift her arm” prior to the procedure.
“I’m sorry to all of the fans who missed out on this fight, but Amanda Nunes is not going anywhere. She probably needed a little bit more time too,” Abdelaziz continued. “She was heartbroken. I still support her decision, 100 percent because if you go in and lose, [and] you were not the best fighter, that’s okay. But if you go in and lose because you’re injured, [it] will haunt her for the rest of her life.”
As a fan, I prefer to see a fighter pull out over fighting and then later blaming an injury for losing.
The bantamweight contest between Sean O’Malley and Yadong Song will take over the UFC 324 co-main event (see the revised lineup here). As for Harrison (19-1), she’s expected to make a full recovery and be ready for competition within six months, presumably against Nunes.
See you at the White House?
Category: General Sports
