(Watch out, we’re dealing with a tough guy over here. / Photo via Getty)
Oh, so you didn’t find Jacob Volkmann‘s latest win at WSOF 3 completely thrilling? Well, nuts to you and your judgement, hot shot, because it turns out that “Dr. Feelgood” may have had a near-death experience the very same day the fight went down.
According to a recent interview Volkmann had with Sherdog, the lightweight blacked out, hit his head and had seizures on the floor of his Las Vegas hotel room before weighing in for his fight against Lyle Beerbohm. Volkmann, a chiropractor, decided to not tell anyone, weigh-in and fight anyway.
Goodness gracious.
“The maid knocks on my door and keeps on knocking, and I [thought], ‘I’d better not get up too fast.’ So I got up and walked toward the door, and by the time I got my hand on the door, I blacked out,” Volkman told Sherdog. “Next thing I remember, I was shaking on the floor, having seizures.”
“I banged my head, and I must have hit my back on the door handle,” Volkmann went on. “I didn’t tell anybody, because I didn’t want them to say I couldn’t fight because I just had a seizure. I had bills to pay, so I really didn’t have a choice.”
Off the record, Volkmann then proceeded to call Phillipe Nover a “complete pussy, even for a male nurse, bro.”
Fighting really is a tough way to make a living, folks. Not only did Volkmann feel the need to conceal his experience, he says that even now he won’t necessarily seek medical treatment.
“Mentally and physically, I felt fine. I didn’t feel cloudy. I kind of did a self-analysis based on my medical background. I just wanted to make sure that my cognitive was there and my mental state was up to par,” said Volkmann. “I was mentally able to fight, still. The thing about chiropractic education is that the first two years are the same as an M.D.’s education. You just branch off after two years.
“It was a byproduct of being dehydrated. I don’t think I need a CAT scan or [anything],” Volkmann said. “There’s nothing cloudy. My memory is fine. I don’t feel sluggish at all. I’m good to go.”
We give Volkmann grief from time to time for being a loudmouth, whining goofball outside of the cage, but we must not forget that when it comes to the business of training and fighting, the man formerly known as “Christmas” is a top fighter and a straight OG gangster.