Injuries: An unseen side to fighter lifestyle

A fight is taking place in a few weeks that you simply cannot wait for. You read all the trash talk, follow both fighters on social media, comment on forums about the fight and have already booked your night off to watch them compete. And then suddenly, news breaks that the fighter in question has pulled out due to injury. You're now thinking "What a shame." This is a fairly common occurrence for fight fans in this day and age. It's unfortunate to say the least. All that excitement, all the build-up and rumours all vanish into a question of what might have been. Even if the fighters get booked a rematch, nothing is definite and the recovered fighter might not be the same as the pre-injury one was. But for fight fans, this is pretty much where it ends. A fighter gets injured, pulls out, then appears again ready to fight a few months later. What fans rarely see is the struggle, pain and sacrifice a fighter endures through an injury. These are men and women who live their lives devoted to MMA and training for fights, earning their living by the ability to compete. Injury takes that away, and what is left is usually pushed behind the curtain. In the case of UFC Middleweight star Anderson 'The Spider' Silva, his recovery has been well documented across social media. This is mainly due to the spectacular nature of his injury, snapping his leg in two in a title fight against Chris Weidman. Seen across the world and re-shared around the internet, the graphic injury stimulated imagination and made people very interested in the Spiders recovery process. Especially when videos have emerged of Silva hitting pads a mere two months after the bone shattering injury seen across the globe. But for some fighters, their recovery process is far more isolated. To say the last few months have not been the best for UFC lightweight Ross 'The Real Deal' Pearson is an understatement. Originally cutting open his forehead in a bout with Melvin 'The young assassin' Guillard, Pearson was slated for a rematch on home soil when UFC FN 36 in London took place. However, news emerged of Ross injuring his knee and having to withdraw. Michael Johnson stepped in to face Guillard and just like that, the Sunderland native was once again out of the picture. For such a prolific and successful fighter, Ross manages to stay fairly low-key in life, splitting his time between his home in the UK, the USA and his girlfriends native Australia. Since his injury he's been spotted more often in the UK, cornering local fighters he has long ties with and rehabilitating his injured leg. The articles on this blog are meant to entertain, but also to inform. Ross is a talented local fighter and arguably the second most recognised MMA fighter in the UK. It seems a shame for Ross to recover in silence as the lightweight division progresses on, so we have decided to partner with 'The Real Deal' to let our readers in on a six week long recovery diary. Check out our first interview with Ross coming soon, where we'll get his opinion on injury in MMA, inside information about his recovery, what he thinks of the lightweight division, fights he is interested in and more! Written by Craig Thomas Boyle