When UFC heavyweight Blagoy Ivanov got stabbed and took a cab to the hospital

Blagoy Ivanov almost lost his life 10 years ago after he was stabbed in the chest in a bar in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Fortunately, the fighter had the presence of mind to hail a cab that would take him to a nearby hospital. Once Ivanov arrived, the doctors performed a six-hour emergency surgery on him, but they remained unsure about his chances of survival.

Ivanov, then-25-years-old, was reportedly out with his friends when eight individuals approached them with bats and knives. According to Sherdog.com, 'Baga' was stabbed below the armpit and the knife pierced through his heart.

Reflecting on his near-death experience during a 2019 interview with ESPN MMA, Ivanov said:

"The first two years, your strength is not the same. But you have to work more on it. The strength is coming back. I think one of the important things for [fighting] is the mental. Everything is the mental. Because when you are a professional athlete, everybody is almost even, strength and technique. The mental is a different thing."

The Bulgarian fighter rose to prominence for beating MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in a Sambo match in 2008. He has since competed in several MMA organizations, including Bellator, PFL, and the UFC.

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Blagoy Ivanov bounces back against Marcos Rogerio de Lima

More than 10 years after the incident, Blagoy Ivanov has recovered from his lethal injuries and has carried on with his MMA career. His most recent appearance took place on the preliminary card of UFC 274, where he fought fellow veteran heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima.

Ivanov snapped his two-fight losing streak by outworking his Brazilian to earn a unanimous decision victory. The 35-year-old heavyweight had to weather an early storm, but was firmly in the lead after 15 minutes of action.

Prior to UFC 274, the Bulgarian was coming off back-to-back split decision losses to Derrick Lewis and Augusto Sakai. He then took two years off to address his injuries. Speaking about his performance after the fight, Ivanov told reporters:

"I feel good. It was a tough fight. ... It's a good comeback. Rogerio is a tough guy. I got some injuries I had to fix. Like, right now I'm on the right track and I just have to keep going."

Check out Blagoy Ivanov's interview below: