Josiah Harrell Faces Brain Disease Head-On: Warrior’s Resolve

Josiah Harrell’s much-anticipated start at UFC 290 took a shocking turn that no one saw coming. Harrell had to drop out of the fight just hours before it was set to happen because of what was first called a “medical issue.”

But it turned out that a normal brain MRI before the fight found a dangerous and rare disease called Moyamoya. Harrell’s manager, Maurice Blanco, was thankful that the UFC and the Nevada Athletic Commission did thorough medical testing, and he stressed that this finding may have saved Harrell’s life.

Josiah Harrell’s decision to pull out of UFC 290 was a huge letdown, but his boss says it was a “blessing in disguise.” Harrell (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was pulled from Saturday’s card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the highlight of International Fight Week, because of what the promotion initially called a “medical issue.”

Harrell was supposed to make his promotional debut against Jack Della Maddalena (14-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC), but the fight was cancelled hours before it was supposed to happen. His manager, Maurice Blanco of First Round Management, told MMA Junkie that his fighter was taken out of the fight because of something wrong with a normal pre-fight brain MRI.

Harrell was found to have Moyamoya disease, a dangerous and rare disorder that can cause blood to clot at the base of the brain. Blanco said that Harrell’s MRI “may have saved his life” and that he will soon have brain surgery.

Blanco says that Harrell didn’t know he had the disease before she told him. Harrell’s brain MRI before UFC 290 was the first one he had ever had in MMA. Blanco thanked the UFC and the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) for the needed medical testing, which he said Harrell did not have to do in the other three states where he fought professionally.

 Harrell is not the first UFC fighter-to-be to learn about Moyamoya during training before his debut. When bantamweight Vince Murdock was supposed to make his start against Jordan Griffin in 2019, he was pulled from the fight.

Murdock finally had surgery on his brain. After getting better, he was allowed to fight again and returned to the ring in 2020. He fought on “Dana White’s Contender Series” and “The Ultimate Fighter 29.” Blanco says that Harrell is still on the UFC roster, even though the algorithm-based Twitter account UFC Roster Watch found that he had been taken off the online ranks.

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