Former Bellator fighter Ian Coughlan has opened up about his struggles after suffering a paralyzing injury.
Coughlan made his professional mixed martial arts debut against Maciek Gierszewski after six fights as an amateur. He scored an armor submission that got the attention of Bellator. Coughlan got pitted with Constantin Gnusariov for Bellator 227 in Sep. 2019 for his first showing under the banner. Gnusariov managed to get the nod on the judges’ scorecards by a unanimous decision.
Ian Coughlan will not be getting a medical procedure to enhance his well-being
Back in July 2021, Coughlan succumbed to a horrific spinal injury during a mixed martial arts training session at Shaolin MMA in Dublin, Ireland. There was a freak accident that cause him to land on his head and he reportedly became completely paralyzed and unable to move within a split second. Former two-division champion Conor McGregor donated $11,000 to help his fellow Irishman recover.
In a recent interview with Severe MMA, Ian Coughlan talked about the cancelation of his trip to Germany for a medical procedure that was aimed to enhance his general well-being after the gruesome injury. He planned to kill himself if the operation didn’t work but decided against the $72,000 operation.
“It was only for my family that I made that decision, like, to be honest with you, without getting too melodramatic or too dark, everyone who told me it (the procedure) won’t work, I literally said to them, if it doesn’t work, I’m going to kill myself anyway.
“So that was my attitude – that’s the level of – that’s how low I was. I literally said, if it doesn’t work, I’m going to kill myself, so I might as well give it a try. But you realise that you’ve got a family at home that rely on you. And that changes everything.”
Coughlan needs help renovating his house
Coughlan further shared the difficulties in renovating the house to make it wheelchair accessible. Reporter Andy Stevenson shared the highlights from their conversation on Twitter.
“Ian Coughlan – the #IrishMMA fighter who was paralysed last year – has spent the past 15 months in hospitals and care homes. Ian spoke to me last week about his struggles. He needs out help to get him home.”
“Ian and his wife, with the generosity of others, purchased a cottage for them to live in, but the unexpected scale of renovation costs to make it wheelchair accessible are the barrier to finally getting Ian home. Ian speaks about all of that and more.”
Ian Coughlan—the #IrishMMA fighter who was paralysed last year—has spent the past 15 months in hospitals & care homes.
Ian spoke to me last week about his struggles.
He needs our help to get him home.
🎥Interview: https://t.co/uUkme3uume
🙏🏻GoFundMe: https://t.co/CCtOoiZ2NU pic.twitter.com/mw9bnqu0rV
— Andy Stevenson (@andyste123) November 1, 2022
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help contribute to the costs of renovating the house so Ian could be home with his family.
