Draggo Home After Near-Fatal Collision

Brazilian middleweight Edson Draggo (Pictures) is home and recovering following a life-threatening motorcycle accident on June 26 in Gávea, Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian fighter collided with a tree chest-first, which caused massive bleeding in his lungs.

Draggo, 30, was transported to Miguel Couto Hospital and then transferred to Amparo Hospital’s intensive care unit the next day, where he was placed in a medically induced coma as doctors tended to his wounds.

“I didn’t break any bones, thank God -- my body structure survived the impact, even with the strong hit,” Draggo told Sherdog.com. “I only had partial injuries of the ligaments in my left shoulder and in my left knee because I hit my left side against the tree. I was over 100 [kilometers an hour] when I hit the tree. I should been dead then because of the speed I was going.”

Draggo remained in a coma for three weeks on assisted breathing apparatus. He underwent a tracheotomy and was treated for pneumonia until he revived.

The fighter’s prognosis quickly improved.

“My recovery was very fast,” said Draggo. “The doctors thought I would have to stay in the hospital for about six months, but I left in a month.”

Draggo merged as a heavyweight hopeful in 2005 and 2006 when he ran his record to 9-0 with a string of brutal knockouts, including his 15-second pummeling of Chute Boxe product Helio Dipp and a five-second starching of solid U.K.-based heavyweight Tengiz Tedoradze (Pictures).

However, the heavy-hitting Draggo's hype was halted when he made his big-show debut. He was proven to be limited on the ground in submission losses to Polish judo legend Pawel Nastula (Pictures) and Japanese firebrand Yoshihiro Nakao (Pictures). Draggo has not competed since July 2007, when he bowed out after two rounds against U.K. kickboxing convert Gary "Smiler" Turner.

“Probably next month, I’ll be back to training,” said Draggo. “My manager, Alex Davis, is looking at the possibility of my return in December. It all depends on my recovery. Many people thought I would not come back after this accident, but I’ll show everybody that I’m alright and I’ll come back even better.”

Jordan Breen contributed to this report.