UFC Fight Night 246 headliner Amir Albazi opens up about arduous road back from heart, neck surgeries

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – It's been a while since Amir Albazi was last in action.

Almost a year-and-a-half later, Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) will finally resume his career when he takes on former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno in the main event of  UFC Fight Night 246 on Saturday. The road back to fighting has been a rocky one. The Iraqi fighter had to undergo a pair of surgeries to address some serious health issues that put his UFC career in jeopardy.

"Before my Kai Kara-Fance fight, I was struggling with some health issues," Albazi told MMA Junkie and other reporters Wednesday at UFC Fight Night 246 media day. "I didn't really know what it was, but after my fight it showed that I had something called supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). That's the medical name for it. It's basically irregular heart beat. My heart rate would go up to 239, so I had to do a heart surgery."

The problems for Albazi didn't stop in the summer of 2023. After defeating Kai Kara-France, Albazi was scheduled to fight Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-5-2 UFC) in Mexico City this past February. However, he had to pull out from the bout to address another health issue.

"After the heart surgery, I kept training for the fight against Brandon Moreno in Mexico City, and then my left arm literally stopped," Albazi said. "I couldn't lift my arm up, I couldn't jab, I couldn't do anything, but I still kept training. ... After I got my first MRI, the first doctor said, 'You shouldn't be fighting anymore. Find a 9-to-5.' I kept going to different doctors and when the UFC doctors found out, they literally pulled me out of the fight and I had to go straight into surgery. They told me (I was) one punch away from getting paralyzed. So after that surgery, here I am. It's the longest break of my career."

After having neck surgery, Albazi had to wait six months until he could begin training again. He now feels healthy and thankful to do what he loves once again.

"To be honest, it feels amazing, and I'm just grateful and happy to finally be back in another fight week," Albazi said. "Also, I'm a main event, so this means a lot, and it's a great opportunity for me to put my stamp back on this weight class and show people what I'm made of and show people what I can do in this division."

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Fight Night 246 headliner Amir Albazi opens up about arduous road back from heart, neck surgeries