Warning: Graphic Content
Paige VanZant/InstagramIn January 2018, UFC fighter Paige VanZant broke her arm during a fight with Jessica-Rose Clark.
In the 18 months since, VanZant has kept fans up to date with her recovery and the several surgeries she’s had to undergo to correct the injury.
The 25-year-old fighter had surgery on the broken forearm shortly after it happened. However, the injury wasn’t healing properly, and she had to undergo a second operation in June last year.
Paige VanZant/InstagramAfter returning to action earlier this year, she defeated Rachael Ostovich. But in March, VanZant revealed she had injured her arm again, expecting rest and recuperation would be all she needed for it to recover.
However, after visiting a physician during training, it was revealed she would need a third operation on the arm, as MMA Fighting reports.
The 25-year-old went under the knife again on Thursday, June 13, but has already shown off some very gruesome images from the surgery. Thankfully, it seems she is recovering well.
The photos vividly show the metal bar which has been secured in her arm, and the countless stitches used to sew the wound back up.
She captioned the post: ‘Chop chop!! All this and still itching for more’.
Check it out, though it’s not for the faint-hearted:
Paige VanZant/Instagram
Paige VanZant/InstagramWhen she first announced she’d be going in for the surgery, VanZant said she expected to be back in the cage in just a few months. However, 18 months later and the arm injury is still yet to recover completely.
It seems she’s finally on the right path now, though.
The 25-year-old fighter had recently mentioned she was coming to the end of her current UFC deal, but hopes – arm allowing – to put on an impressive fight in her next match-up before she negotiates a new contract.
Speaking to SunSport about the injury, VanZant called the injury ‘frustrating’, but insisted it wouldn’t keep her from returning to MMA.
She said:
It’s frustrating because I’ve had two surgeries on it already and now I’ve broken it again – and there’s nothing I can do about it, my arm is just weak from the first time I broke it.
For me I’ve been here, I’ve done this already I just need to be patient and I know I’ll be able to fight again soon.
With a plate in my arm I’ll forever have a high risk of re-fracturing my arm due to the hardware in there and I’ll just have to live with that.
I’m going to stay super active in the gym so once my arm is ready to throw punches I can get back into it straight away.
Here’s hoping for a full recovery after another intense surgery.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.