Dhiego Lima was scheduled to face Alex Morono earlier this month at UFC 247, but was pulled from the bout after sustaining a neck injury.
The fighter was initially told that the injury wouldn’t require any surgery, but after some further evaluation, it was deemed by doctors that surgery was needed.
MMA Fighting is now reporting that Lima has successfully undergone neck fusion surgery and is now on the road to recovery. Lima is expected to be discharged from the hospital in the next few days, as the next steps in the healing process continues.
A recovering Lima was replaced by Khaos Williams at UFC 247 and Williams defeated Morono by TKO in under a minute.
Lima (15-7-0, 4-5-0 UFC) has picked up four wins under the UFC banner, with those victories coming over Jorge Antonio Cezario De Oliveira, Chad Laprise, Court McGee and Luke Jumeau. Lima last competed at UFC 243 in October of 2019, defeating the aforementioned Jumeau by way of split decision.
There is no word at this time as to when Lima is expected to return to action, but it should become clearer as the fighter heals from the neck surgery.
