\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI shouldn\u2019t be walking. I shouldn\u2019t be talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Liam McCracken<\/strong> steps inside the Octagon tonight (Tues., Sept. 1, 2026) to compete for an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contract on Week 4 of Contender Series<\/em> inside the Meta Apex, it is worth knowing that the 25-year-old top English prospect is lucky to be alive.<\/p>\n In Sept. 2023, McCracken was out for a run near his home in Liverpool, England, when he crossed the road with his headphones playing at full volume. He never heard the bus driver sounding the horn.<\/p>\n The bus slammed into McCracken and dragged him approximately 60 feet\u2014or 18 meters\u2014along the road before finally coming to a stop (Watch here). Witnesses found him unconscious behind the bus and initially believed he was dead.<\/p>\n \u201cLiterally, I should be dead for what happened,\u201d McCracken told MMA Junkie. \u201cI shouldn\u2019t be walking. I shouldn\u2019t be talking.\u201d<\/p>\n McCracken was trapped beneath the vehicle while its engine burned his body. The driver could not immediately shut off the ignition because doing so could have lowered the bus\u2019 suspension and crushed him. A pedestrian eventually helped guide the bus away from McCracken, while several bystanders\u2014including a paramedic carrying medical equipment\u2014rushed to save his life.<\/p>\n McCracken was losing so much blood that he required multiple transfusions.<\/p>\n The complete list of injuries was absolutely horrific. McCracken suffered four fractures in his spine, multiple broken ribs, a broken pelvis and nose, two slipped discs in his neck, severe knee damage and numerous deep wounds. According to MMA Junkie<\/em>, he suffered approximately 20 broken bones and required several operations and extensive skin grafting.<\/p>\n Doctors initially feared McCracken might require a metal rod in his back, which likely would have ended his fighting career. He also faced the possibility that he might never walk normally again.]ry up and down and if things along the way went a little different, I wouldn\u2019t be back fighting,\u201d McCracken told BBC Sport.<\/p>\n Following multiple surgeries and nearly two years of rehabilitation, McCracken completed his unbelievable comeback in Sept. 2025, submitting Jhon Bryan<\/strong> via first-round rear-naked choke. He has since scored two more stoppage victories, improving his professional record to 8-1 with a perfect 100-percent finishing rate.<\/p>\n Tonight, McCracken faces Mexico\u2019s Silvestre Sanchez<\/strong> (9-1) in a Lightweight matchup on Week 4 of Contender Series inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card begins at 7 p.m. ET on Paramount+.<\/p>\n Three years ago, McCracken was fighting to stay alive beneath a bus.<\/p>\n Tonight, he fights for a UFC contract.<\/p>\n