The UFC‘s Donald Cerrone had a close call on Friday when he apparently almost died on cave-diving in Mexico.
The “Cowboy Fighter” was seeking some thrills on his trip to Cozumel, Mexico, but it sounds like he nearly took it too far. On Friday, he posted a series of photos on Instagram, explaining in the caption just how treacherous cave-diving can be.
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“Today I can honestly say I’m Happy to be alive,” the 35-year-old wrote. “We had catastrophic worst case scenario on our dive. Total silt out, lost the cave line and lost my buddy couldn’t see my own hands was the most scariest moment to this day in my life.”
Cerrone’s photos showed some harrowing images of a cramped underwater cave. The scene was beautiful, but very claustrophobic, with just a few narrow access points for exits and entrances.
One of the photos showed just how dark the cave could be without the divers’ submersible lights. Another showed how badly visibility could be effected by even the slightest amount of dust kicked up into the swirling water. The first photo in the album featured a sign with a skull and crossbones on it.
“Restriction,” it read. “Only full cave divers.”
Cerrone wrote that it was his children, above all else, that were on his mind as he found himself in this horrifying scenario.
“I remember kissing Danger and Lindsay and saying I’ll see y’all soon, don’t worry daddy’s coming home!!!! Told the grim reaper ‘Not today Mother F—er’ I’m figuring this the f— out and coming home!!”
Surprisingly enough, a “silt out” is one of the biggest dangers in cave diving. Experienced explorers must be very carefully not to kick their feet too hard, and they must keep caerful track of which direction they are going. The flippers they wear can easily send up a small storm of the fine particulate lining caves, making it impossible to see anything until it all settles back down.
The caves Cerrone entered are particularly dangerous, according to a report by PEOPLE. Known as the El Aerolito cave system, the passaves contain a mixture of salt and fresh water. This allows a big population of crocodiles to lurk in the passages. On top of that, the delicate stone walls are prone to collapse, and they stretch nearly 12 miles inland, making it easy to get trapped.
This marks another miraculously happy ending to a cave-diving story in 2018.
