Irish flyweight Ryan Curtis, who has competed for the likes of Bellator MMA, Brave CF, and Cage Warriors among other promotions, has suffered a devastating spinal injury while training.
The Dublin-based fighter, who last competed in April of 2023, has been paralyzed after suffering a broken back, neck, and dislocated spine during a recent training session. Following the incident, Curtis was rushed to the Royal hospital in Belfast and underwent emergency surgery.
A father to a two-year old daughter, Curtis is expected to require a lengthy hospital stay. Per a GoFundMe set up to support the fighter and his family, “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.”
Among those rallying around Curtis are fellow Irish star Conor McGregor and SBG Ireland coach John Kavanagh. McGregor has already contributed £25,000 to Curtis’ recovery efforts.
“Sending my support and well wishes to Dublin MMA fighter Ryan Curtis after suffering life changing injury in practice,” McGregor wrote on social media, sharing Curtis’ GoFundMe and sending a video message of support. “Here is a link to his go fund me, he has a young daughter and the family needs our support.”
The GoFundMe page set up for Ryan Curtis makes it clear the type of struggles the young father will have moving forward.
“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.”
Curtis won his lone Bellator MMA fight in 2019, then competed for Brave CF, where he lost a match-up against current UFC flyweight contender Amir Albazi. He had been scheduled to return to action next month.
