Filed under: UFC
Sometimes a moment of dread becomes a moment of joy. That’s just what happened to UFC middleweight Alan Belcher, who walked into his doctor’s office on Tuesday morning with nervousness about what he might hear regarding a possible career-ending injury to his right eye, and walked out with a green light to begin full contact in January.
Belcher had won his last two UFC bouts and was in Brazil preparing to face Demian Maia when his eye started giving him trouble. It was soon discovered to be a detached retina, an injury that has cost many fighters their careers. He was immediately put on the sideline and underwent surgery to correct the problem in August.
Now, with his recovery going well, his ophthalmologist, Dr. Chris Semple, has cleared him to do workouts including running, jumping and weight-lifting. Meanwhile, a return to sparring and eventually to the cage will have to wait a bit longer, leaving Belcher chomping at the bit to begin his march to the top.