Li Jingliang Instagram – As many of you already know, I injured my spine during fight camp and was forced to withdraw from my fight against Michael Chiesa at #ufc287. The injury was an accumulated effect from all the rigorous training that I had put my body through in the past several months especially all the extra BJJ and wrestling work I put in to prepare for beating a submission artist. I was feeling extremely confident and was never so ready for a fight when the injury happened. I’d been waiting for too long for my moment since last year so I tried to power through it until I reached a point where the pain was worsening and expanding across my entire upper body; no amount of physical therapy or ibuprofen was able to fix the problem; and my fight preparation was completely stalled because of it. When the doctors explained to me how dangerous it would be for me to keep pushing my limits, I decided to wise up and take their advice to let my body heal.
This is a disappointing situation to say the least. As a professional fighter, my job is to fight, and to provide for my family with the honest work I put in with my bare hands. I love what I do, and because of it I understand the need to play the long game and be responsible for my own health. I chose fighting as my career – so decisions like this must not be based on ego, but on my long term commitment to the sport I love.
I’m recovering and getting better, they will reevaluate my progress in the near future and decide on the next steps for my treatment plan. A spine surgery is not completely out of the question, but I hope to let it heal organically with the help from medical professionals so I can come back sooner.
Life will always throw you curve balls, just keep fouling them off. The right pitch will come, and when it does, I will be prepared to knock it out of the park.
I will be back. | Posted on 03/Apr/2023 03:52:40
