Does Matt Hughes have brain damage?
Former two-time UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2017 after the truck he was travelling in was hit by a train. The UFC legend is yet to fully recover from the accident.
The horrific incident took place on the Beelers Trail, Zanesville. The former fighter failed to notice an oncoming train due to the absence of railroad crossing signs in the area.
Per @danawhite, Matt Hughes being airlifted to medical facility, after a car/train accident. espn.com/mma/story/_/id…
The incident left the former champion with a grade 3 brain bleed. Hughes was put in a medically induced coma for 19 days after the accident.
Hughes has had to learn how to walk and talk all over again since the accident. In an interview with Burt Watson in 2021, Hughes opened up about his therapy and recovery, saying:
"It's no fun learning how to walk again. It's much more fun learning how to beat someone up. But for me it just wasn't fun learning how to do something I've been doing my whole life. But if anyone has a brain injury out there, take your therapy very seriously. The best thing i did was go get stem cell in Columbia bioxcellerator."
Watch the full interview below:
Matt Hughes and Dana White share emotional moment during UFC's 25th anniversary
Matt Hughes' documentary A Country Boy Can Survive aired during the UFC's 25th anniversary. During the event, UFC president Dana White and Hughes shared an emotional moment.
Hughes told the audience that White was one of the people who offered to help his family after his accident:
"I just know that when the train hit me, Dana called my wife and said, 'Do you need anything?' My wife said, 'We are fine. And you said [it] again and Audra could tell he was very serious. He was going to do anything to help me and help them so, thank you Dana."
Watch Matt Hughes talk about Dana White offering to help his family below:
During the event, White said that the documentary does a good job of telling how the horrific accident happened. White further stated that he had seen the film at least 50 times, but was still getting emotional talking about it.
Hughes' documentary is currently streaming on Vimeo.