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Ex-UFC fighter Angela Magana in coma after anesthesia complication

Ex-UFC fighter Angela Magana is in a coma after experiencing complications from anesthesia during an emergency surgery Tuesday, according to her coach.

The former strawweight suffered a herniated disk during training this month and took medication to relieve the pain, MMA Junkie reported, as she tried to prepare for next week’s “Combate 35: Reinas.” But the pain lingered, so Magana had a nerve block done Monday, which led to a diagnosis of cauda equina syndrome — a rare disorder involving damaged nerves at the bottom of the spinal cord. It called for emergency surgery, which the 35-year-old has not yet woken up from at a hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“She’s in a coma, and we’re waiting to hear some positive news,” Gabriel Lamastus, Magana’s coach, told MMA Junkie. “The surgery went fine. The problem was anesthesia. It’s very rare that patients react bad to anesthesia, but it does happen, and I guess this is one of those rare cases. But I’m being positive. She’ll be fine, and she’ll wake up. She’s a fighter. I’m just staying positive.”

Lamastus told the website later Wednesday in a text that Magana’s condition had improved.

“I just talked to the Dr (sic) and there has been an improvement,” Lamastus said. “She is moving her hands and toes, and blinking her eyes.”