How shock injury sidelined UFC gun for over a year

3 years ago 349

It's been implicit a twelvemonth since Jessica-Rose Clark's astir awesome UFC show to date.

The Cairns autochthonal enactment connected an implicit clinic, finishing her hostile Sarah Alpar successful the 3rd round.

It wasn't until aft the combat that she got immoderate devastating news; astir apt the worst an jock tin get. A torn ACL.

When Wide World of Sports spoke to Clark connected Wednesday, her giddiness for the play - and a instrumentality to the octagon - was obvious.

"Sitting connected the support drives maine f--king crazy," she said.

"I'm truthful excited, I'm truthful excited for Saturday."

This weekend, Clark fights Joselyne Edwards connected the main paper of UFC Fight Night 196, much than 13 months aft that astonishment injury, which she initially didn't adjacent realise had happened.

Clark said she had immoderate genu discomfort going into the fight, but had nary instability oregon different issues.

"It was conscionable aggravated, and past I fought and tore it - due to the fact that the quality earlier and aft that combat was nighttime and day."

The 33-year-old pinpointed a infinitesimal precocious successful the combat arsenic erstwhile the incidental astir apt happened.

"She had a clasp of my near foot, and I retrieve my grappling manager telling maine to propulsion my ft retired and I was similar 'I can't, there's thing wrong'.

"I'm beauteous definite that's erstwhile it happened - it wasn't achy oregon anything, it conscionable felt wrong. I don't cognize however other to picture it. I was truthful amazed erstwhile I recovered retired what it was, I was similar 'what the f--k? That didn't happen.'"

She was backmost kickboxing 3 months aft the injury, but jiu jitsu and wrestling weren't backmost connected the array until a period earlier she was offered this fight.

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"I don't adjacent cognize if that was due to the fact that of carnal ability, oregon due to the fact that mentally I was disquieted astir it," she said astir the second 2 disciplines.

When she realised she hadn't missed a beat, it was clip to get backmost successful the octagon.

"It's wherefore I said yes immediately," she said.

And aft much than a year, that instrumentality volition yet travel this weekend.

"It was conscionable being patient. I had to woody with my coach, my surgeon and my carnal therapist telling maine astir regular to chill," she said.

"It's hard erstwhile you spell from being a full-time jock to lone being allowed to locomotion and not truly bash thing else.

"I truly deliberation it taught maine a batch much appreciation for what I bash get to bash and what my assemblage is susceptible of."

A triumph present would apt catapult Clark into the apical 15 rankings of the bantamweight part - which would unfastened much doors, gain much wealth and make amended match-ups.

While you often perceive fighters talking beyond their station, calling retired the biggest names astatine the archetypal opportunity, Clark offered a astonishing reply erstwhile asked if she inactive wanted to combat Miesha Tate.

"I'm going to beryllium wholly honorable with you - I truly privation to combat Miesha, and getting into the rankings would beryllium amazing, but I'm not making the wealth to combat Miesha yet.

"I person nary uncertainty successful my caput that I'm competitory with the apical fighters - but the happening is, what's she making, $200,000 a fight? I'm not going to support calling retired idiosyncratic who's making 10 times what I'm making. It's high-risk, debased reward for her, but we'll get there.

"I conscionable emotion to fight, I truly don't attraction who it is. Everyone's gonna get a turn."

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