Matt Hughes is taking steps to improve his brain health.
Matt Hughes is a UFC Hall of Famer and former UFC champion. Hughes walked away from fighting back in 2013 but stayed close to the sport in several different roles. In 2017 Hughes was teasing a possible return to the Octagon but then was involved in a horrible accident.
Hughes was hospitalized after his truck was hit by a train in his home state of Illinois back in 2107. Hughes suffered from head trauma and was put into a medically induced coma for 19 days. Now five years later, Hughes is still dealing with some lasting effects of his Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and is looking to some specialists for help.
“I’m not a little step guy, so it’s always tough for me to just not move past the little steps to the big steps,” Hughes told ABC 13 News. “But you just have to take it. Inch by inch can lead to a mile.”
Hughes is pairing up with the Apex Brain Center out of Ashville, NC to undergo treatment for TBI. Following his accident, Hughes was forced to relearn how to do almost everything in his life, from talking to walking. He visits the center twice a year for a few weeks at a time to help regain as much of his former life as he can.
“The brain injury took away my balance and I’ve always had super-good balance,” he said. “So, that would be what I don’t like the most. And I just don’t have the best memory now, so that’s another thing.”
TBI is unfortunately a part of many fighters’ lives. Repeated blows to the head can lead to permanent damage. This is an issue that has been prominent in MMA and studies with other fighters both past and present are popping up all over the world.
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