Evans-Smith has been on the sidelines for nearly three years while she recovered from a spine surgery to fix pinching and nerve pain in her neck and back. At this weekend’s UFC Fight Night: Holm vs Bueno Silva she makes her comeback, fully healthy and full of gratitude for everything that she went through to make it to this point.
It’s a big moment for Evans-Smith, who looks back on those endless hours of physical therapy, acupuncture, stem cell treatments, massages, and sports psychology as key building blocks for her comeback.
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“True competitors make their biggest setbacks part of their comeback,” Evans-Smith told UFC.com. “Man, this was a really big setback, so I expect an amazing performance on Saturday.”
“For a minute there, I was really thinking that I wasn’t going to come back into the sport. Being able to go through all those trials and tribulations and to fight back from physical adversity and mental and emotional adversity, when you think about the whole psychological effects of pro athletes being injured, I’m so proud of myself. In my eyes I’ve already won this fight. So no matter what happens, I’m just grateful.”