Michael Conlan to auction fight gear for MMA fighter who suffered ‘life-altering’ injuries
Michael Conlan is among the boxers and combat sports community that have come together to rally behind a Dublin fighter who suffered horrific injury last weekend.
Ryan Curtis suffered potentially ‘life-altering’ injuries following a freak incident in training in Belfast last weekend.
According to reports and a statement released via a GoFundMe account the MMA flyweight suffered a broken back, broken neck, dislocated spine in training and has lost the use of his arms and legs.
The 31-year-old’s accident caught the attention and galvanized the tight-knit MMA and boxing communities.
Former UFC champion Conor McGregor, SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh, Owen Roddy, Paddy Holahan and top Bellator featherweight Leah McCourt have all donated money and moved to raise awareness of the need for funds. Boxers, Conlan, and close friend Keane McMahon among others have done the same.
Former Crumlin amateur boxer McGregor has donated £25,000, Michael Conlan is listed for £1,000 and will auction off his fight gear from his last fight to raise further funds.
Speaking online Conlan said: “A friend and fellow fighter Ryan Curtis has suffered serious life-changing injuries while training, I’m going to auction off the fight kit from my last fight to help raise money for him. Bidding can done here on my twitter. Link to donate below https://gofund.me/84c01442.”
A friend and fellow fighter Ryan Curtis has suffered serious life changing injuries while training, I’m going to auction off the fight kit from my last fight to help raise money for him. Bidding can done here on my twitter. Link to donate below https://t.co/i2doBq2rB3 pic.twitter.com/W0wCWbqGsK
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) January 14, 2024
The GoFundMe was set up by training partner and ‘best friend’ McCourt and went into detail about the difficult road ahead for the Dubliner.
“Ryan will be out of work for the foreseeable future and we are trying to take any additional load or stress of Ryan’s family and daughter by creating a page to raise some funds to help towards rehabilitation, vital treatment, recovery and supporting his family,” the fundraiser page says.
“The road ahead is unknown and will involve at least 5 months of him in hospital, followed by a further period of time with a specialist spinal team. There is no exact end date to when this treatment will be complete.
“Understandably he is distressed at present, we have limited access to see him. He is in ICU and hopefully being moved to spinal ward when conditions improve. He is still showing his positive outlook, his determination and mindset to overcome yet another challenge that life has presented.”
