'My biggest motivation after crash was to hold my daughter'

An MMA fighter who was unable to walk after being hit by a bus has said his biggest motivation during his recovery was to be able to hold his daughter again.

Liam McCracken was building a promising career in mixed martial arts but his life changed in a split second when he was hit by a bus while out training in Huyton on Merseyside in September 2023.

The 24-year-old, from Prescot, Liverpool, suffered a broken neck, legs, ribs, pelvis and nose after being dragged 18m (60ft).

"I was getting to the point of becoming an elite athlete, and then I went from that to not being able to walk, so it was obviously very difficult," he said.

"But I had a little daughter at the time who had just turned one.

"That was like the biggest motivation as I couldn't hold my daughter for months.

"So that was my first little goal, I wanted to be able to hold her again."

The road to recovery has been long, taking McCracken two years to rebuild his health and fight again.

"Physically obviously the challenges were terrible, but I had obviously a lot of doubt coming back," he said.

"My first fight back was sort of just seeing if I was going to be able to do it.

"I still feel lucky in a way because I feel like I was an inch away from either not being here or it being a lot worse.

"It's a crazy thing to happen to you but it's also even crazier to make a recovery like I have."

McCracken has won both his fights since returning from injury, most recently competing at FCC in Liverpool on 7 March.

He said: "When you go through something like that and you realise you can come back from being that close to dying and being able to come back in the way I have, I know how resilient I am."

Phil Turner, head coach at Aspire Combat Sports Academy, said McCracken's journey was inspiring.

"He's just an outstanding young man and obviously he's had a big setback two years ago," he said.

"It was hard watching him go through it and all his hopes and dreams he's had since a young lad almost being smashed.

"Watching him pull himself back and being an inspiration to everyone has just been inspiring for me to watch."

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