CJ Hancock, a Legacy Fighting Alliance fighter, says that he “died” in the cage on Friday night before he was revived by EMT workers.
In a Facebook post, Hancock said that his heart stopped while he was fighting in a bout against Charlie Ontiveros at LFA 26 in Houston. He suddenly collapsed, and a medical team rushed into the cage to revive him.
“Well I died tonight in the cage,” he wrote on his page. “I’m OK. Thanks everyone. I'll reply when I can. My heart stopped, and I had kidney failure. They did CPR and hit me with the EKG twice and brought me back.”
He mentioned that the kidney problems may have been triggered by a tough weight cut, according to reports.
Hancock said that it likely means it’s the end of his MMA career.
“Doc says I shouldn’t fight again ... I’m broken, I guess I'll just be a coach from now on ... I still plan on competing in Brazilian Jiu jitsu and BJJ superfights, when I get better. Thanks to everyone that supported me,” he wrote.
LFA CEO Ed Soares said in a statement published by Mmafighting.com that Hancock collapsed on the ground after he was kicked in the body by Ontiveros.
“It’s a very unfortunate situation where C.J. Hancock took a body kick during his fight,” he said in the statement. “After the kick landed, there was a few second delay, and then he collapsed in the cage. Our cutman David Maldonado immediately recognized the problem and signaled to the medical team sitting cageside. They were able to resuscitate and stabilize C.J. and took him to the hospital via ambulance where they determined he had suffered kidney failure. C.J. is currently recovering and in the company of his friends and family.”
Ontiveros was given the win via TKO.
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