After facing 'life-altering injuries' during training last week, Ryan Curtis has received a heartwarming amount of support from the MMA community to assist his family during these tough times.
Bellator featherweight and fellow Irish fighter Leah McCourt detailed Curtis' situation. Following the news of the training incident, McCourt reached out on social media, urging her followers to show their support by contributing to a GoFundMe Page for Curtis and his family. Alongside this, she shared a statement describing Curtis' current condition.
“As an athlete and human the unimaginable has happened to our beloved Ryan. He was involved in a life altering incident during a training session on Thursday 11th January.
“Ryan has suffered a broken back, broken neck and dislocated spine. During this injury, trauma was also caused to Ryan’s spinal cord.
“The damage is classified as the most severe that can happen to a spinal cord. He was rushed to the Royal in Belfast and underwent emergency surgery.
“Currently Ryan has no movement in his legs or his left arm. The road ahead is unknown and will involve at least 5 months of him in hospital, followed by a further period of time with a specialist spinal team. There is no exact end date to when this treatment will be complete.
“Understandably he is distressed at present, we have limited access to see him. He is in ICU and hopefully being moved to spinal ward when conditions improve. He is still showing his positive outlook, his determination and mindset to overcome yet another challenge that life has presented.
“Ryan will never be able to do what he loves, and fight or train in MMA again. A sport he has dedicated his life to from the age of 11.
“Ryan will be out of work for the foreseeable future and we are trying to take any additional load or stress off Ryan’s family and daughter by creating a page to raise some funds to help towards rehabilitation, vital treatment, recovery and supporting his family.”
Over £100,000 has been raised already, thanks to contributions from prominent figures in the fight community like Ariel Helwani, Dillon Danis, and even Conor McGregor.
Conor McGregor, who donated £25,000 to the Curtis family, also shared his support on social media with a positive message for his fellow Irishman.
“Very sad news on Curta,”
“The game isn’t worth the risk. Truth we don’t want to speak on.”
“Thank God for your little family Curta, keep them tight and God bless brother, get better will you!”
Curtis last fought in April 2023 with Cage Warriors. Before that, he competed with Brave CF and has a 1-0 record in Bellator.
Since the injuries are recent, there's no update on whether Curtis will make a recovery that allows him to return to active competition.