Ryan ‘Chaos’ Curtis has been left with life altering injuries following a freak training accident on January 11th, which has left the Irishman with no movement in his left arm or either leg.
His close friend, training partner and number 1 ranked Bellator Featherweight, Leah McCourt announced the tragic news via her Instagram. She said:
"As an athlete and human the unimaginable has happened to our beloved Ryan. He was involved in a life altering incident during a training session on Thursday 11th January.
"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 emzac. 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.
"Please see my link in bio and story."
In a professional career spanning 9 years, 'Chaos' was a regular feature when BAMMA, Cage Warriors and Bellator visited Dublin, having fought four times on the aforementioned promotions.
Since the GoFundMe was set up in order to help with the medical cost and financial burden that comes with such a catastrophic injury, the MMA community have rallied around the cause, donating whatever they can to help Curtis on his road to recovery. Fellow Irishman Conor McGregor very generously donated $25,000 to fund and Michael Chandler and Dillon Danis have contributed with $1,000 each. Those are just three of a long list of athletes who've donated.
The tragedy comes as Curtis was gearing up for his 11th professional contest against upcoming bout against Davide Scarano at Cage Conflict 12.
Although the road is unclear at this present time, we are wishing Curtis successful recovery.
