The fighter, who already had one hand surgery completed after that event, has now had a second hand surgery done.
“About a week-and-a-half ago, I had another hand surgery,” Smith told MMA Junkie. “It completely restarted my healing process. The first one wasn’t successful and then (they) had to completely redo it.”
Smith’s first hand surgery was done a few days after UFC Stockholm and the recovery time was expected to be around four weeks.
However, with the second hand surgery now complete, a recovering Smith isn’t expected to compete again until next year, but no return date has been set at this time.
“They had to take bone grafts from my leg,” Smith said. “That kind of pushes it back, too. I think we’re still looking at that January timeline, but unfortunately I had to completely restart.”
If Smith’s recovery time is accurate, it would mean that the fighter could be out of action for at least six months or more since his last bout at UFC Fight Night Stockholm.
