UFC pays tribute to shooting victim Maya Gebala to Octagon, promotional contacts family

It may have flown under the radar for many fight fans, but there was a small addition to the octagon at UFC Houston on Saturday.

The name Maya Gebala was written on one of the upper supports of the cage structure, referring to the 12-year-old survivor of the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooting in Canada earlier this month.

Gebala was shot in the head and neck tries to lock the door of her school library in an attempt to keep out the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar. On February 10, six victims, including five students and a teacher, were killed at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Van Rootselaar’s mother and brother were shot dead in the parental home.

The shooter later died of a self-inflicted gunshot; the shooting is one of the worst in Canadian history.

Saturday’s tribute comes as Gebala’s family, including mother Cia Edmonds, continues to provide updates on the girl’s recovery. Doctors initially did not expect her to survive the night. She did. It was unclear at the time whether she would regain consciousness, but by Saturday Gebala had opened her right eye and shown movement in her right arm.

On Saturday evening, more than ten days after the massacre, Gebala was rushed into emergency surgery due to severe fluid buildup in the brain caused by Hydrocephalus (colloquially known as ‘water on the brain’), which is essentially cerebrospinal fluid that builds up in the ventricles of the brain and puts pressure on the brain itself.

According to an update about set up a GoFundMe to help with Maya’s recoverythe operation was successful. Maya’s father, David, wrote: “Our brave little warrior made it through her emergency surgery. After what felt like the longest hour of our lives, the surgeon came to tell us it was successful. They placed a drain on her right side and she is holding strong, just an obstacle she faces with so much strength. We love you endlessly.”

In posted a separate message during the UFC Houston eventDavid Gebala thanked the UFC.

“Big shout out to the UFC for doing this for our amazing little warrior Maya! I also want to thank Dana White and everyone involved for reaching out to us! You guys have been truly amazing and we can’t thank you enough.”