Josiah Harrell’s tenure in the UFC was one of the shortest of all time. At UFC 290, Jack Della Maddelena was set to face Sean Brady when Brady was forced to withdraw due to a staph infection. The UFC sounded the horn and called up top LFA prospect Josiah Harrell. With just a few days to go before the event, Harrell rushed to gain weight and get his medical records – and that’s where things took a turn for the worse.
As the doctor performed their final brain scan, they discovered he was living with moya moya – a rare brain disease that restricts blood flow to the brain. The UFC canceled not only the fight, but also Harrell’s contract. While some may be beyond hope, Harrell looks back on the ordeal positively.
“I look at it with a lot of gratitude,” Harrell explains. “I’ve considered it legitimate since birth, because I was born with a brain disease, from football, to wrestling, to karate, to trotting, to drinking, to partying, to any relationship I’ve had – every time my blood pressure goes up, that’s another opportunity where I’m at risk of having a stroke. I’m at risk of having a seizure.”
This not only gave him a more positive outlook on life, but it also brought him closer to his faith.
“I kind of spent my whole life, I’m not saying I had to die, but I was playing with fire, right on that line, and that’s what brought me so close to Jesus,” he said. “That’s pretty much what it comes down to: looking back has given me more faith in my purpose, which is to fight, and then also in my Lord Jesus.”
Now stronger than ever – both in his faith and in the cage – Harrell is back at work. He rides a three-fight win streak into Friday’s LFA 224. He takes on fellow prospect Bekmyrza Dosmatov in a welterweight co-main event. Despite knowing how good the Kyrgyz fighter is, Harrell is simply too confident to be deterred.
“I have a problem where I believe in myself now. Before this, I didn’t really believe in myself. I’m like, fuck it, who cares. Now I know I believe myself. I know what I’m capable of,” Harrell said. “If we had a game plan for the guy, I mean, obviously for anyone who’s smart, it’s like stay away from his wrestling, but whatever’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. If we wrestle, we wrestle. If we strike, we strike.”
You can watch Harrell ply his trade on LFA 224 on VICE TV. The fight card starts at 7:30 PM EST.
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