MMA fighter suffers another setback

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This article was published 09/03/2019 (2696 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

By Bud Robertson

Brandon mixed martial arts fighter Curtis Demarce has suffered another setback in his long career.

Demarce sustained another ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury a week ago during his final training day in Edmonton for his upcoming title fight today against Kyle Prepolec for the BTC Super Lightweight Championship in Prepolec’s hometown of Windsor, Ont.

The fight against Prepolec was announced Feb. 8.

Demarce said that during the practice, he went to reverse a hip toss, stepped in between the opponent’s legs and the opponent’s weight came down on his knee.

“I heard it snap, I felt the pain and it felt exactly like it did on my other leg,” Demarche said in a phone interview from Edmonton.

In February 2018, Demarce was scheduled to fight 26-year-old Kyle Nelson of Huntsville, Ont., at a featherweight title bout in Lethbridge, Alta. The bout was scrapped due to an injury Demarce suffered in training. He had an MRI, and the scan found he had complete tear of the meniscus and a complete rupture of his ACL.

This time, the injury happened to Demarce’s left knee.

“It was just an unfortunate event on my last day of training,” Demarce said, adding the decision to pull out of the match was difficult.

Demarce said he underwent an MRI to determine how serious the injury was.

“It’s almost like there was a partial tear there before and it just, kind of, finally went,” he said.

“There was no swelling. There was no pain, my range of motion was good.”

Still, he said, “I think we made the right choice, just because I can look at maybe a summertime of a return, whereas if anything else goes it could be a couple of years or possible never again, right?”

Demarce said he looks forward to being able to take on Prepolec in a future matchup.

“We love that matchup and it was a good one.”

Demarce, 30, has 18 wins and 14 losses under his belt. Prepolec, with 11 wins and five losses, was supposed to defend the belt for the first time after winning the title last June.

For now, Demarce said, he will remain in Edmonton under the care of Dr. Dhiren Naidu, team doctor for the Edmonton Oilers and Eskimos.

“He’s going to try to set me up with the best (orthopaedic surgeon) that they deal with, and then I’ll likely have surgery here, just because I can get it done a lot quicker, possibly even within the next two or three weeks,” he said.

After that, he will return to Manitoba for rehabilitation.

“I’m just trying to keep my spirits up, and maybe I’ll come back with two brand new ACLs,” he chuckled.

Demarce added he is also looking to bring live professional mixed martial arts to Manitoba within the next few months.

Matches could be held in Brandon or Winnipeg, he speculated.

“Maybe I’ll be back by then, and I can even fight on it.”

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