wywiad:
FCF: First off, are you OK?
MC: Yeah, I think everything is going to be fine here in the end. Pretty scary moment for me -- total paralysis for about ten minutes or so. I have almost all my feeling back now. I still have some numbness in my hands. There's still a lot of soreness, stiffness in the neck. As we do this interview right now, I'm still on painkillers.
FCF: What exactly happened?
MC: I've had a bad neck for quite some time. Actually, it had been going very well for me for a long time. It was sort of a freakish incident where me and my partner Kevin Randleman were going about three-quarters-go, and he had gotten me up in the air using a wrestling throw. His feet kind of slipped out from underneath him, and I pretty much absorbed his weight and mine right on the top of my head. [The fall] snapped my neck back, and I lost feeling in my body.
FCF: Obviously, that was a frightening moment. What thoughts were going through your head at that time?
MC: I was laying there mostly thinking about my two kids. Who was going to take care of my children? After a while, I even got a little bit selfish, and I was wondering who was going to take care of me.
FCF: I imagine someone called 911?
MC: Yeah, they had to call the paramedics in. The ambulance came in, and I got carted away on a stretcher -- that's the first time that's ever happened to me in my life. [It's] just not a good feeling being driven away to the hospital and the uncertainty of what exactly was wrong. They took initial x-rays, and they showed a couple fractures on the neck. That was a scary situation, but when I got the MRI, there were no fractures. I do have some bone spurs in the neck.
FCF: So, there wasn't much question that the fight against Don Frye would have to be cancelled?
MC: I would have to say it was over right from the get-go. I was just hoping to be able to get the feeling back, be able to walk, and be able to take care of my children.
FCF: How many days were you in the hospital?
MC: I spent three days in the hospital.
FCF: You mentioned the doctors told you that you had a few bone spurs. What else did they say? And how has your future in fighting been affected?
MC: I have some bone spurs. I have a little bulge in there. Surgery is an option, but I've already talked to some neurologists who have told me it's not necessary. I do plan on avoiding [surgery] and just really strengthening the area and being more careful. I feel like it was a freakish incident, something I can avoid in a real fight.
I have to think about my kids and consider if I want to risk this. As we talk, my answer is definitely. This is what I do. I'm not going to deny it; there is a lot of fear involved. But as every day passes, I'm confident the fear will leave. I'm just going to work hard, and I still plan on coming back. I feel absolutely horrible to the Pride organization, the fans out there and Don Frye himself. He really deserved this rematch, and I was really looking forward to putting on a good show. I feel like I've let a lot of people down. But I've been down before, and I'm not the type of person that stays down.
FCF: How long do you estimate it will be before you can get back to training or even step back into the ring?
MC: I hope to be back as soon as possible. I'm letting things heal up here a little bit. It feels better daily. My range of motion is pretty well all the way back. I've been seeing a chiropractor who's assured me that I can live to fight another day. It's really up to me. At this point, I owe way too many people another fight. Especially the Pride organization, who have been so good to me. I really hope they'll give me the opportunity to fight again. If they don't, well, I don't blame them, but if they don't, I'll be back in the UFC. I have to fight again.
FCF: Is there anything else you'd like to say?
MC: If this was the stock market, I could see a lot of people selling off [my] stock, but I can promise those who hold onto the stock, the value is going to go way back up. I am going to rise back to the top, and I will be on the champion platform again. I guarantee that.
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