SPORTSSHERDOG
Sherdog.com Home
News Blog Videos Sherdog Radio Pictures MMA Statistics Sherdog Forums Sherdog Store
Fight Finder

  First Name
  Last Name
  Nick Name
Articles Quicklinks
» The Weekly Wrap: Nov. 21 - Nov. 27
» Sherdog Prospect Watch: Charlie Brenneman
» Sherdog.com’s Pound-for-Pound Top 10
» Faber: One Fight Away From Title Shot?
» Cung Le Not Looking Past Scott Smith
» Let It Reign: Handicapping UFC Champions
» Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
» Huerta Enters Free Agency
» UFC 106 Analysis: The Main Card
» 'Minotoro' a Monster in UFC Debut
Draggo Home After Near-Fatal Collision
 Options: | Printer Friendly
Draggo Home After Near-Fatal Collision
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
by Gleidson Venga (gvenga@sherdog.com)

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.
 

RECENT EDSON DRAGGO NEWS:
Draggo in Serious Condition
Monday, July 07, 2008
Draggo Injured in Motorcycle Accident
Friday, June 27, 2008
Cage Rage 22 "Hard as Hell" Pictures
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
“Hard as Hell” Weigh-Ins
Friday, July 13, 2007
Cage Rage Aims to be “Hard as Hell”
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
PRIDE 34 "Kamikaze" Pictures
Monday, April 09, 2007
Search News Archive:   November 2009     October 2009     September 2009    
Sherdog.com, A property of CraveOnline, a division of AtomicOnline, LLC.
© 2009 CraveOnline Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | RSS | Mobile | Advertise
Not in any way associated with Crave Entertainment, Inc.