Ailing Lencioni ‘Has Not Regained Consciousness’

Bellator MMA featherweight Cris Lencioni is scheduled to face the returning James Gallagher at the upcoming Bellator 298 event, recently made official for Fri., Aug. 11, 2023, at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

That fight is expected to be canceled after Lencioni, 28, was hospitalized for losing consciousness in practice.

“He was in the process of working out, they were doing MMA sparring, they happened to be in a grappling situation, at the time Cris lost consciousness,” former UFC and Bellator MMA fighter Chael Sonnen told his YouTube followers. “He was not in the process of being punched or choked or anything like that. He was just in the process of getting his workout in and lost consciousness. The folks at the gym, and thank heavens for them, they just sprung into action, called 911 and an ambulance came.”

“They get an ambulance and get him to the hospital,” Sonnen continued. “This was a week ago. They believed the following day, Cris would regain consciousness, and he himself could share some insight on how did we get here. When the next day came and he didn’t regain consciousness, that wasn’t alarming, they just said, ‘hey look it’s going to be the next day.’ In the process of all this, his wife is able to get out there and be by his side as this started to unfold. He has not regained consciousness. They have his vitals, they got his signs, they are able to do all sorts of things. Everything does steer to the direction that he will regain consciousness and then we go from there.”

Lencioni (11-3) racked up back-to-back victories since returning to Bellator MMA in late 2022, including his submission win over Blake Smith as part of the Bellator 294: “Carmouche vs. Bennett 2” fight card last April.

“We are aware of Cris Lencioni’s current medical condition and are monitoring the situation closely,” a Bellator official told MMA Junkie. “We ask you to join us in sending thoughts and prayers to Cris and his family as he navigates his recovery process.”

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for future updates to this still-developing story.