The story of Bellator featherweight Cris Lencioni continues as he’s now awake, and responsive, but has an unknown road to recovery.
MMA Fighting was the first to report the news.
Lencioni, 28, had a heart attack on June 8 while training in Spokane, WA. He went into cardiac arrest and was taken to the hospital. On Tuesday his wife, Marca Lencioni, told MMA Fighting that an MRI has revealed that Cris suffered brain damage.
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Lencioni was reportedly released from ICU on Friday.
Lencioni was set to face James Gallagher on Aug. 11 at Bellator 298, but it has since been cancelled for obvious reasons.
Now the focus is on his road to recovery, but what that means is still uncertain to both doctors and his wife Marca.
“The neurologists were basically like, ‘We have to wait and see what he can do and what he shows us. Because he was so, so healthy when this happened and is young and an athlete, they’re not really sure what’s going to happen,” Marca told MMAFighting.
“The brain is complex, and because of where he’s at, they don’t know and they can’t say. Even the neurologist, she’s like, ‘I can’t give you a definite answer, because it’s gonna be up to him.'”
Still Marca hold out hope that her husband will recover from this.
“If anybody can come out of something like this, it’s him. He’s a fighter in all senses. It’s not just in the ring.”
