[autotag]Vince Murdock[/autotag] didn’t think his career would play out like this.
Before he made his amateur debut in 2010, Murdock dreamed of becoming a UFC fighter. Hard training sessions, grueling fights on the regional scene, and financial and social sacrifices all were endured – collateral for his UFC dream.
After his 15th pro fight in December 2018, the moment finally came and he claimed the job title he always wanted: Vince Murdock, UFC fighter.
On cloud nine, Murdock took his promotional debut on short notice. It was a dream come true. The Team Alpha Male product was booked to fight June 29, 2019, vs. Jordan Griffin at UFC on ESPN 3 in Minneapolis.
Murdock flew to Minnesota, went through the fight week ringer, and completed his media obligations.
Less than 48 hours before his scheduled bout, however, Murdock withdrew. He didn’t want to make it public at the time, but pre-fight medicals showed brain abnormalities and he was forced to pull out.
Further testing revealed the irregularities were more serious than originally believed. Murdock was diagnosed with moyamoya disease, a rare condition in which the blood vessels to the brain become narrowed. Although he felt relatively fine, Murdock was considered Type 3, meaning he was at high risk for a stroke and medication wouldn’t help. Forget fighting. Murdock’s situation was life-threatening. He needed surgery as soon as possible.
“Had they not found it, I would have definitely suffered some consequences that would have led to something permanent – or death,” Murdock told MMA Junkie. “… I thought for sure these tests were wrong and there’s the denial – ‘there’s no way this could happen to me’ kind of thing. It was surreal and it kind of happened fast.”
After getting multiple opinions, Murdock chose one of the worldwide leaders for the necessary procedure, Stanford University’s Moyamoya Center. But top-notch medical care wasn’t cheap – around $390,000.
Murdock needed help financially, but he wasn’t, and still isn’t, one to ask for it. He didn’t want to be the center of attention or for people to pity him. Furthermore, Murdock was in denial. “Disease” is a word he doesn’t like to associate with himself, but that’s what it was: a disease.
But he wanted to be viewed as nothing less than Vince Murdock, UFC fighter. Going public might change that.
“At first, I didn’t want to tell anybody,” Murdock said. “You never want to be (the victim). I hate the victim mentality and the victim role – not that I feel like I was one. I didn’t want to talk about my current situation super publicly, but the reality was, it was my situation. There was no way around it, and I did have to go public with it.”
Murdock admittedly is no expert when it comes to handling such situations, and it showed. That’s when teammate, friend and UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber stepped in to help.
“Urijah was one of the first guys I came to,” Murdock said. “He’s been a mentor to me since I moved out here when I was 20. He’s really had a hand in doing a lot of things for me in my life. He’s always been a role model. He’s someone who I’d always seek advice from.
“It was hard to tell people that I have this. I didn’t know how to speak on it. I’d be up and down, up and down about it. I’ve always watched the way he’d handle his life and his problems. You wouldn’t even know the guy has any problems. He took it upon himself to do all that for me. He made me feel more confident about the situation.”
Before long, Faber launched a GoFundMe called “Save Vinny’s Brain,” which got the ball rolling not only on financial assistance, but social support, too. It was then Murdock realized how many people were on his team. A responsibility began manifesting inside of him: He had a reason to stay strong through the tribulations.
“The community was (expletive) like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” Murdock said. “If I could take one thing away from that, it’s I’ve come to realize there’s a lot of people out there that don’t get that support.”
“… There was a lot of eyes I felt like I needed to be strong for – my wife, my mom. It was just hard to want to feel anything other than strong about it. I’m in a position where you have a lot of control about how you feel at that moment. You feel one way, but you know you’re being looked at. I was trying my hardest to just be as upbeat, positive, and take this head on.
On Nov. 13, Murdock underwent a vascular bypass surgery of more than eight hours, also known as cerebral revascularization. Murdock avoided researching prior to going under the knife. He didn’t want to freak himself out. So when he woke up with loss of feeling in his face, you can imagine he was nervous.
“I’d lose complete feeling in my hand, my mouth, my lip, or my eyebrow,” Murdock said. “I was like, ‘All I need you guys to do is tell me this is normal and I won’t (expletive) complain at all.’ They’re like, ‘Well, it’s not not normal.’ They just kept evaluating me and eventually, things started to come back.
“I developed a stutter, which is actually the only lingering effect from the surgery that I’m aware of. For a while, I had trouble with what’s called ‘identifying objects,’ like ‘his’ or ‘her’ or ‘I.’ My sentences were just terrible. When I got out, I had to have everybody proofread what I wrote. Some of the stuff, it didn’t make any sense. If you said, ‘Hey, you want to go eat?’ I’d be like, ‘Eat McDonald’s,’ or something (like that).”
Two days after his surgery, Murdock was released from the hospital – but was quickly readmitted. The cause? Overexertion. Murdock realized he couldn’t wish himself into getting better. It had to happen naturally.
“I started to visit people, and I overdid it,” Murdock said. “I ended up having to go to the E.R. because I was losing my vision. I don’t know if that was from the swelling or the pain.”
Despite the brief scare, Murdock is doing well now – really well. The bypass takes time to work to its magic, so Murdock thinks it’s only up from here.
“Other than that, everything has been pretty good,” Murdock said. “I feel better almost every day. I don’t know if it’s from working out or exercising. A lot of people who have the same procedure have reached out to me and told me they don’t go back to work for like six months or they didn’t exercise for four (months) – all these things. I was hitting mitts two and a half weeks out. Most people are like, ‘Well, you’re a (expletive) idiot. You just had brain surgery.’ At the same time, I’m going to do what I feel like I’m capable of doing.”
Some people feel bad for Murdock and think he in turn feels bad for himself. In reality, it’s the opposite. Murdock feels lucky. Without pre-fight testing, he may not be here at all. Prior to surgery, he was an asymptomatic ticking time bomb that didn’t detonate.
“I could be really upset about having to go through it, but I also could have never known,” Murdock said. “I should be thankful more than anything. I’m actually really, really lucky that I made it into the UFC and I got the scans. It saved my life. Yeah, I had to have brain surgery, but I’m more thankful that they found it.
“… A lot of people that have what I have and have this disease or this thing, they never found out. They suffer one thing. That’s either a stroke, something more severe, multiple strokes before it’s diagnosed, or seizures – especially if it happens in a kid. When you’re a kid, they can’t do the surgery because you’re so small. Your brain doesn’t develop with the right amount of blood. It’s pretty scary to think. I try to feel more blessed than I do. I try not to think about, ‘What if what happened didn’t happen?’ I try not to live backward. I do appreciate every second after this. The reality of it is, I was incredibly fortunate to find this before anything further.”
The topic is still tough for Murdock to talk about. While his instincts are to be private about his ordeal, he recognizes his elevated platform can raise awareness for moyamoya. Mentally and emotionally, it hasn’t been easy for the reserved bantamweight fighter.
“In all my posts, I don’t even mention moyamoya disease,” Murdock said. “It just feels so cancerous. I try not to say it, but all the people who have the disease reach out to me. … I’ve seen where it’s effected people severely. All the people I’ve talked to, I don’t know if I’ve run into anyone that’s found it before they’ve had a stroke – and they have to relearn how to talk or walk. Like, (expletive), those guys are the real heroes. They have to overcome something a lot more difficult than mine.”
Doctors haven’t ruled out an MMA comeback, according to Murdock. He’s motivated by overcoming adversity and is working toward making the UFC walk that escaped him in June. What a walk that would be.
“The doctor is confident given that the bypass provides enough blood,” Murdock said. “I have a blood problem, not a brain problem. … If I take a new test and my brain has equally more blood on the left side and right side of my brain, (the doctor) should be able to clear me. I talked to the UFC and they didn’t really say yes or no. They said I needed clearance from a (doctor). … I was at risk for stroking due to blood flow. If that’s corrected, then I’m no longer at risk. That’s all I care about.
“… My biggest goal right now is I want to make good on that UFC walk, especially after it being something that saved my life. Even if it’s just one time, it would mean a lot to me to make good on all of those well wishes. That’s my biggest thing. I’ve never had an easy life or upbringing.
“Getting here was really hard, so it would mean a lot to me to make that walk.”
Those looking to donate or learn more about moyamoya can visit Moyamoya.com, Murdock said.