LAS VEGAS – If Josiah Harrell had gone through with competing at UFC 290, the result could’ve been deadly. While that’s a risk for every fighter who steps in the cage given the brutal nature of mixed martial arts, it would’ve been especially so for Harrell.
That’s because Harrell has Moyamoya disease, a serious blood vessel disorder in the skull that can cause clotting at the base of the brain. The only reason Harrell was diagnosed with the rare condition is because of a pre-fight MRA test administered by the UFC, which caused his promotional debut against Jack Della Maddalena to be canceled.
Harrell, 24, has been a professional fighter since March 2020 and competed for three separate organizations – Ohio Combat League, Cage Fury FC and LFA. All of his fights for OCL took place in Ohio, while his CFFC and LFA appearances took place in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, respectively. None of those organizations or state athletic commissions did a head scan on Harrell, according to his manager, Maurice Blanco of First Round Management, as the pre-UFC 290 test was the first of his career.
Harrell accepted the fight with Della Maddalena on just six days’ notice after Sean Brady withdrew. Because of the pre-fight medical testing he received, taking the fight turned out to be, as Blanco put it, “a blessing in disguise.”
The fact that a fighter could go more than three years and seven fights without ever having his brain properly examined at the behest of a promotion or regulatory body is “insane” to UFC president Dana White.
“If you took the 23 years that we’ve been doing this and you saw how many people we found with problems that probably shouldn’t have been fighting, even kids that wanted to get into ‘The Utimate Fighter,’ it’s everything, and it’s insane that this goes on out there,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters Friday night. “These other organizations are regulated. Yeah, it’s crazy.
“We spend millions and millions of dollars on health and safety. It is the most important thing that we focus on and that we care about as far as putting on fights.”
Unlike small and regional promotions who “can’t afford it,” according to White, the UFC, which for the past several years has touted record revenues, including last year, certainly has the money to thoroughly test fighters before competition. White said part of the motivation to open the $14 million UFC Performance Institute in 2017 was because the promotion deeply emphasizes the health and safety of its fighters.
Harrell, who is expected to undergo brain surgery soon, is a stark reminder of just how important that is in the dangerous world of MMA.
“At the end of the day, if you’re involved in a combat sport – and I consider football a combat sport, too – there’s a risk,” White said. “Every time you go out and compete, there’s a risk. What we try to do is minimize the risk as much as possible.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.
