‘God bless brother.’
Conor McGregor has reached out to an Irish Mixed Martial Artist after he suffered a devastating injury that has left him with ‘no movement in his legs or his left arm’.
On Thursday of this week, Ryan Curtis suffered ‘a life altering incident’ during a training session. Bellator fighter Leah McCourt took to social media, on Saturday, to detail the shocking array of injuries suffered by the flyweight. McCourt wrote:
‘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.
‘I’m sure you all know Ryan is a dad to 2-year-old Kassia and partner to our beautiful friend Emma. Ryan has the most infectious positive outlook in life and has been through some of the most horrific circumstances always coming out a better human, man and friend.
‘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.
‘It’s times like this we thank God for the team of family and friends we have around Emma, Ryan and Kassia. The outpouring of love and support is a testament to who Ryan is as a human and how many people’s lives he has made better by simply knowing him.
‘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 of Ryan’s family and daughter by creating a page to raise some funds to help towards rehabilitation, vital treatment, recovery and supporting his family.’
Statement re Ryan Curtis https://t.co/sGPDpWo1uS pic.twitter.com/gUokQ5HuvD
— Leah McCourt (@leahmccourtmma) January 13, 2024
Conor McGregor makes sizeable donation
When news of the horrific injuries suffered by Ryan Curtis became known, many from the Irish MMA community reached out with messages of support and donations.
Conor McGregor made a donation of £25,000 (approximately €29,000) to a fundraising pot that has, to date, collected just under £75,000 to help out Curtis and his young family. On Instagram, McGregor wrote:
‘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 you will!’
Owen Roddy, McGregor’s striking coach, and boxer Michael Conlan have also reached out to offer support.
Ryan Curtis was 6-4-0 in his MMA career. The flyweight had one Bellator bout, back in 2019, defeating Luis Gonzalez at Bellator 217. More recently, he was fighting in Cage Warriors and Cage Conflict.
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