MMA fighter Cris Lencioni was released from an ICU after suffering a heart attack earlier this month while training for an upcoming Bellator match, his wife recently revealed. She said the rising star suffered brain damage as a result.
In an interview with MMA Fighting this week, Marca Lencioni opened up about her husband’s long road to recovery after his cardiac arrest on June 8 while training in Washington for an August fight that has since been cancelled.
Cris Lencioni and Blake Smith fight in a featherweight bout during Bellator 294 on April 21, 2023 at Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. (Matt Davies/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
«The neurologists basically said, ‘We have to wait and see what it can do and what it shows us,'» Marca Lencioni told the outlet. «Because he was so, so healthy when this happened and he’s young and an athlete, they’re not really sure what’s going to happen.»
RISING STAR OF MMA CRIS LENCIONI IN ICU AFTER CARDIAC ARREST; FAMILY SAYS HE IS ‘IN HIS BIGGEST FIGHT YET’
He explained that an MRI later revealed that Lencioni suffered brain damage as a result, adding that he was in a state of disordered consciousness when he was released from the ICU on Friday.
«The brain is complex, and because of where it is, they don’t know and they can’t tell. Even the neurologist says, ‘I can’t give you a definitive answer because it will depend on it.’ ‘ If anyone can get out of something like this, it’s him. He is a fighter in every way, he is not alone in the ring.»
Cris Lencioni makes weight ahead of Bellator 289 on December 9, 2022 at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. (Matt Davies/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In a June 19 post by Marca Lencioni shared on the wrestler’s Instagram page, she revealed details of the date her husband went into cardiac arrest.
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«On Thursday 8/6 there was an incident while Cris was training and she went into cardiac arrest. The athletes in the gym were great and immediately called 911 and did everything possible to attend to her needs until the paramedics arrived.
«She has been under the care of excellent doctors with me and much of her family by her side,» the post continued. «We are all hopeful in the progress that we know he will continue to make.»
Cris Lencioni steps on the scales at a ceremonial weigh-in on April 21, 2023 at Honolulu’s Blaisdell Arena. (Matt Davies/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Videos of Lencioni during his rehabilitation process were posted to his Instagram story on Wednesday and show him responding to a kiss on the cheek from his wife with a smile.
Marca Lencioni told MMA Fighting that doctors believe the heart attack may have been caused by Long QT Syndrome, which went undiagnosed on a 2019 EKG.
Lencioni, who is from portland, oregon, is a rising star in the featherweight division at Bellator. He was on a four fight winning streak and has an 11-3 record.