22-Year-Old MMA Fighter Hit by Bus, Suffers Severe Injuries
Liam McCracken is a rising star in mixed martial arts.
Liam McCracken, a 22-year-old mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, was hit by a bus while running along Pilch Lane East in Huyton, Liverpool on Tuesday afternoon, according to Metro. He was stuck under the bus for an hour before he was sent to the hospital with a broken nose, back, ribs, and pelvis along with a gash in his skull.
"No one could get hold of him, he was supposed to be in [the gym] for 4pm teaching kids," McCracken's coach and friend Phil Turner said. "He was in for a one-to-one session and he never showed up. He's the most reliable guy you will ever meet so we knew something was wrong. We started hearing about the bus crash and that's where Liam runs a lot, so we started putting two and two together. "We were ringing all of the hospitals, we did The Royal and Whiston, but it was his mum who found out he was in Aintree."
A GoFundMe page was launched to help support his family while he's out of action. McCracken posted a video on Instagram, saying he "got TKO'd by the bus" and added, "Honestly everyone I'm in disbelief came out of surgery to see a GoFundMe that's raised crazy amounts of money. I can't thank everyone enough, every last penny will be spent on providing for my family and rehab I promise. Thank you all so much, lost for words."
In another post on Sept. 17, McCracken said, "Back in surgery tomorrow if everything goes to plan need some plastic surgery on my leg and can start going forward with rehab from there. List of injuries seems never ending but I count meself so lucky that I'm even here so no doubt with time I'll get over them all. Thanks so much to everyone who's messaged donated and checked up on me and my family youse will never understand what it means. Toughest fight of my life but I'm gonna smash it get back to my baby and family and then get back In the cage and show youse all what self belief can do."
On Wednesday, McCracken shared a video of him walking solo on crutches. He wrote in the post, "15 days since getting completely ran over by a bus. Already walking solo on crutches and spending time with the family, blessed." According to Tapology, McCracken has a 5-1 MMA record and his last match was in July when he defeated Hyram Rodriguez in a Levels Fight League match. He was scheduled to take on Tony Silva on Oct. 20.