The first time I spoke to him, he was detailing the reason why he was forced to withdraw from his Dana White’s Contender Series bout with Miguel Baeza last summer. About a week before the bout, Brahimaj received an alert from the UFC medical staff that his MRI revealed an irregularity and that he would need to see a neurologist for further clearance.
Brahimaj was told that best case scenario, the irregular finding was a cyst. The worst case? That the half-dollar sized mass was a tumor.
“I get into the neurosurgeon’s office and I was hoping for good news, but I’m also a person that I prepare myself for the worst news, as well, just for anything that hits me in life,” Brahimaj told UFC.