Alessio Undergoes Surgery

June 27, 2008

source: Mike Russell, The Fight Network

John Alessio did not get the kind of break he had hoped for when he fought

Pete Spratt on June 20 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Alessio -- looking to get back on track after his disqualification loss to Brock

Larson at WEC 33 in March -- broke a bone in his right forearm when he

blocked a kick from Spratt at Banner Promotions: Night of Combat. The

Duncan, British Columbia, native was able to secure a fight-ending rear

naked choke in the second round despite the injury.

Alessio has since undergone successful surgery in which a steel plate was

inserted in order to help his broken bone heal. He remains optimistic he

will recover quickly and return to training at Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts

in Las Vegas.

"I had a plate put in to fuse my broken ulna back together. It'll stay in my

forearm forever," Alessio said. "The doctor said I should be back to training

in about four weeks."

Alessio said he knew his arm had snapped when he felt the broken bones grinding together but never considered quitting. He admitted holding the fight-ending choke took a lot of resolve and some teeth grinding, but he knew Spratt would tap out if he held on long enough.

"I tell you, it hurt like hell. I knew I had to hold on and finish him or I'd be in trouble," Alessio said. "I would have had to finish the fight with one arm."

  MAGAZINE

THE ULTIMATE MMA