Injured Bend MMA fighter in good spirits

During a mixed martial arts fight against opponent Sean Soliz last Saturday night, Dave “Danger” McManis broke his back in three places and is temporarily paralyzed from the waist down.

The fighter known as “Danger Dave” is in very high spirits, and although he claims his tournament years are over, he looks forward to the next adventure in his life. He hopes he will be able to train or coach children in the future.

“Once I step in there, everything goes black. I only hear two voices in my corner. I only see one person, and that’s my opponent,” McManis said during an interview at St. Charles Bend..

Last Saturday, the fighter known as “Danger Dave” competed against Sean Soliz.

“Well, at first I had him in a guillotine, and I was surprised because everyone said I wouldn’t be able to guillotine him — and I was like, ‘Ha!’ McManis recalled. “We hit the mat and I said — ‘My back.”

His back was broken in three places, and he currently has no use of his legs or lower back.

“This is my way for my creator to say, ‘Hey, bud, this is your time to find something different’. I probably wouldn’t have retired until I died in the cage.”

J.T. Taylor, McManis’s trainer, knows there are often negative stigmas around sports that are considered dangerous.

“Is it dangerous? Yeah. But we are big boys,” Taylor said. “We’ve known what we’re doing. We take our own life in our own hands, and we don’t blame our shortcomings on anybody else.”

“I’m in Bend Oregon, I’ve fought cancer, and I know that being in Bend, nothing is going to be wrong forever,” he added. ” It’s just a temporary thing, because this is the most healing place on the planet. And that’s why I love it here.”

On May 21 st , Budo Fights and other MMA organizations around Central Oregon will be hosting a Jiujitsu and MMA benefit that’s open to the public to help raise money for McManis and his family.

If you’d like to help: https://www.gofundme.com/gyzph2wc