“If he was a NELK boy Dana would’ve paid $70k next day” – Fighter resorting to ‘GoFundMe’ for brain surgery leaves fans fuming about UFC’s medical plans

UFC fighter Josiah Harrell faced a huge stumbling block even before his career in the promotion had started. Ahead of his debut in UFC 290, the medical exams revealed the fighter was suffering from a rare brain disease, Moyamoya. As such, Harrell recently went through brain surgery, which cost nearly six figures. Since Dana White’s UFC didn’t cover the expenses through their insurance, the fighter rallied to GoFundMe. Now, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani explained his situation and promoted his fundraiser.

In his recent tweet, Ariel Helwani confirmed Josiah Harrell went under the knife yesterday. As such, he revealed the operation took eight long hours. Further, he mentioned Harrell would be in the ICU, which would halt his fighting carer. Also, in his tweet, he shared the link to the fighter’s GoFundMe page to spread the word and help him with the donations. Here is what he said:

Josiah Harrell, the fighter who signed to fight JDM on short notice in July but was then ruled out due to a rare brain disease that was revealed during the pre-fight MRI, just had surgery on his brain. The operation, I’m told, took 8 hours. He’ll be in the ICU for a bit, which has obviously paused his fighting and work career. 

Ariel Helwani via X

Dana White went viral for comments on lifetime insurance for UFC fighters when a mishap happened in 2021. However, White stated the UFC strives to provide the best healthcare to its athletes. But Josiah Harrell was an odd one out since the disease he acquired was congenital and not from an actual fight. As such, he wasn’t eligible to claim the insurance. So, he went ahead with a fundraiser and asked for $80,000 for his surgery and recovery.

Josiah Harrell was scheduled to debut against Jack Della Maddalena in a welterweight bout in UFC 290. He accepted the fight after Maddalena’s original opponent, Sean Brady, withdrew from the fight. However, Harrel’s pre-fight MRI revealed Moyamoya, restricting his participation. So, he sought out medical help immediately and went through surgery recently.

Fans react to Ariel Helwani’s tweet about Josiah Harrell

Josiah Harrell was supposed to make his UFC debut in July 2023. But, a pre-fight MRI revealed the fighter was suffering from a rare brain disease called Moyamoya. This condition restricts blood flow in the brain, causing it to be fatal when untreated. So, after months of consultation and planning, Harrell went ahead with the surgery. Now, Ariel Helwani posted an update on his surgery and shed light on his fundraiser.

The required brain surgery needed almost six figures. Since the UFC’s health insurance won’t apply to his case, Josiah Harrell sought the help of ‘GoFundMe’ to fundraise. As such, Helwani tweeted about his surgery and stated he would be out of work for a while. Continuing, he shared the link to the fundraiser and notified his followers of the cause. As such, this earned the attention of the fight fans.

Fight fans were concerned about Josiah Harrell’s health and wished him well in his recovery. As such, they bashed the UFC CEO for not covering the expenses. Although circumstances didn’t permit the UFC insurance to cover Harrell, they wanted Dana White to help him out. As for his career, Harrel remained undefeated with a record of 7-0 and signed with the UFC in 2023. But currently is on the sidelines due to medical concerns.

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