'Dread' discusses return from spinal fracture

Remember when Mike Tyson said, I broke my back. … My back is broken. Spinal …”?

UFC women’s flyweight Luana Carolina actually suffered a stress fracture in her spine, and it took her off UFC on ESPN+ 15 in China last August. “Dread” talked about it at the UFC on ESPN+ 30 media day, ahead of her main card fight vs. Ariane “Violence Queen” Lipski on Saturday night.

It was very weird because I was having a lot of pain in camp, but I was training through it, said Carolina through an interpreter. Then one day I couldn’t even lift anything from the ground. I couldn’t sit down. I couldn’t stand up – just completely froze.

I had to stay completely still for a month, then the next month, I had to do physical therapy very slowly. Then the next month, physical therapy alongside with muscle workouts to make my muscle strong again. I couldn’t even sleep on my side, so it was serious, but no surgery. Three months of recovery, and then I was able to come back and start training again.

I had some time off, but now I’m back and better.

Now I had almost a year to study my game, to really train my mind and to train my skills. I came back and I trained a lot. This fight was rescheduled three times, so I had a great camp, and I’m super ready for it.

It’s going to be a great stylistic matchup. We’re both strikers. She’s very aggressive. She loves to walk forward all the time. I also love to strike, so I think the fans are in for a great show.

Right now, I’m only thinking about this next bout. But I want to fight at least three times a year. This year, since it’s a shortened year, I want to fight at least twice, but yeah, I surely want to stay busier than before.