Former UFC competitor Chael Sonnen recently opened up about the health of his friend and Bellator competitor Cris Lencioni.
Lencioni has won four consecutive bouts and is 11-3 as a MMA professional. He is also 6-2 in Bellator. Lencioni was scheduled to face James Gallagher at Bellator 298 on August 11, which was undoubtedly the biggest match of his career. Lencioni is just 28 years old.
During a training session in preparation for his match, Cris Lencioni reportedly lost consciousness. This led to an immediate call for emergency medical assistance. Lencioni was swiftly transported to the hospital, where he has remained unconscious for the past week. The situation has left many worried about his well-being and the potential impact on his life and career.
Chael Sonnen is a close friend of Lencioni, and he remains hopeful for a positive outcome. Sonnen urges everyone to keep Lencioni in their thoughts and prayers.
While talking about Lencioni on his YouTube channel, Sonnen stated: “He was at a new gym, they invited him out there and said hey, we got some good bodies, some good coaching and we would love to have you. Cris took them up on it and went to a new gym.”
Sonnen shared further details regarding the incident, clarifying that Lencioni lost consciousness during a grappling session. He said: “He was in the process of working out, they were doing MMA sparring, they happened to be in a grappling situation, at the time Cris lost consciousness, he was not in the process of being punched or choked or anything like that.”
“He was just in the process of getting his workout in and lost consciousness. The folks at the gym, and thank heavens for them, they just sprung into action, called 911 and an ambulance comes. Cris had not gained consciousness…”
With each passing day, the anticipation for Lencioni’s recovery grows. Although expectations were initially optimistic that he would regain consciousness the day after the incident, a week has gone by without any change. Lencioni’s wife has joined him at the hospital, providing much-needed support during this trying time.
Sonnen continued: “They get an ambulance and get him to the hospital. This was a week ago, immediately, they believed the following day, Cris would regain consciousness, and he himself could share some insight on how did we got here. When the next day came and he didn’t regain consciousness, that wasn’t alarming, they just said, hey look it’s going to be the next day. In the process of all this, Cris’ wife is able to get out there and be by his side as this started to unfold…”
Despite the current uncertainty, medical professionals have assured that Lencioni’s vital signs are stable. While the exact cause of his loss of consciousness remains undisclosed, the focus now lies on Lencioni’s awakening and subsequent assessment of his condition.
Sonnen concluded by saying: “Cris is in the hospital, he has not regained consciousness. They have his vitals, they got his signs, they are able to do all sorts of things. Everything does steer to the direction that he will regain consciousness and then we go from there.”
Lencioni’s specific circumstances are now unclear, but we hope that he will soon be able to heal and regain consciousness.