Cristopher Lencioni, 28, is currently conscious and showing responses to stimuli.
However, he faces an arduous journey of rehabilitation and an uncertain future following a heart attack that occurred on June 8 in Spokane, Washington.
Lencioni experienced a sudden cardiac arrest while participating in a jiu-jitsu exercise at a gym, during his training for a now-cancelled fight at Bellator 298, as revealed by his wife, Marca Lencioni, in an interview with MMA Fighting on Tuesday. Prompt medical assistance arrived within approximately five to six minutes, and paramedics utilized a defibrillator multiple times before transporting him to a nearby hospital.
Following a subsequent MRI, it was discovered that the Bellator veteran had suffered brain damage as a consequence of the heart attack, Marca Lencioni explained. He was recently discharged from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Friday, but he remains in a state of disordered consciousness, often associated with traumatic brain injuries.
Doctors continue to search for signs he is returning to normal. During a visit on Tuesday, the fighter nicknamed “Sunshine” smiled and took his hand out of a bag of ice.