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[Sakara=Excitement]

With stomach-churning ear infections under control, UFC vet David Terrell eying a return | MMAjunkie.com

After a 14-month layoff, Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace and once-fast-rising middleweight David Terrell again suffered an injury and was forced out of a November 2007 UFC 78 bout with Ed Herman.

Now, it's been nearly four years since the 32-year-old "Soul Assassin" has stepped foot inside a cage.

But on today's edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio (MMAjunkie.com Radio | MMAjunkie.com), Terrell said he's considering a comeback. He also detailed the gruesome (yet little-known) ailment that led to the quick descent of one of the sport's most promising careers.

"I trained really hard for my fights, but I was getting these sinus infections and a lot of ear problems," said Terrell, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Cesar Gracie who's now the NorCal Fighting Alliance head trainer. "It finally got to the point that these infections weren't going away, so I had to get a surgery on my ear where they kind of carved out the infection. It was just a pain in the butt. They stapled the ear back on after they pealed it off. They like filleted the back of the ear.

"I thought then I was good, but I kept having to drain puss and nasty stuff (from the ear), so [the doctor] put me on every antibiotic you can imagine for about a year. I finally said, 'This isn't right.' So I got a second opinion and another MRI, and the guy said there was still a pretty bad infection in my head."

Terrell had a second surgery about a year ago. He was told he was good to go, but soon, the leaking started up again. He just couldn't shake the ailment.

After getting a referral, though, Terrell finally hooked up with a doctor at the University of California-San Francisco who really tackled the problem.

"The guy's been doing a good job fixing it," Terrell said. "He's actually been cauterizing it. He puts this powder in my ear that burns. He explained it the first time. He said, 'This is going to feel like an icepick.'"

Terrell still gets cauterization procedures once a month, and the process should be finalized by the spring. In the meantime, he's been back to training and helping his students – such as Nate Loughran, Emily Thompson, Kyle Pimentel and Bellator champ Joe Soto – get ready for their fights.

However, Terrell said he definitely wants to get one of his own.

In fact, he hates to picture his life without getting one more shot on MMA's big stage, especially since he feels like he's a better fight now than he was while defeating the likes of Matt Lindland, Joey Villasenor and Yuki Sasaki from 2003 to 2004.

"I want to fight," said Terrell, who hasn't fought professionally since a submission victory over Scott Smith at UFC 59. "I still feel like I have so much unfinished business that I wasn't able to ever do. It's like I was never able to really push my career because of injuries. I just want to give it one more shot.

"If it were to end like this, I'd probably end up being an alcoholic the rest of my life filled with a lot of regret. Not that I drink, but I can see how it weighs on me, and it's something I think about every day. When you lose that momentum and go through something like that, it definitely messes up your confidence and kind of takes away a lot of the opportunities I had three years ago."

Terrell (6-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), whose only career UFC loss came in a title fight with Evan Tanner, would like to return to the octagon since he's always had a special fondness for the UFC.

"I owe them a lot," said Terrell, who's also dealt with elbow and arm injuries during his career. "They got me out of my Pancrase contract. They've always done a lot for me, and I feel like I really let them down. I'm sure they hate me because they'd done so much, and I've just let them down so much (by) getting hurt.

"I would like just to apologize and thank them for everything they did do while I was in the sport. They were real patient, and it just got the point where they had to drop me."

Terrell, though, is open to any outlet so long as the offer is a good one.

"I just want a good opportunity," he said. "I don't want to come back out and have to fight for pennies or anything. ... Like I said, though, if I had to stop today and never fought again, it would haunt me for a very long time."

[mmawolverine]

tanner stomped him pretty good i hope he has gotten alot better because so many have evolved since he was relevant in the ufc

[VimyRidge]

Originally Posted by mmawolverine

tanner stomped him pretty good i hope he has gotten alot better because so many have evolved since he was relevant in the ufc

True, but too bad he had so many injuries, he had so much potential.

[GL Jeff]

OMFG this guy is still alive? Last I saw him, Tanner fucked up his whole day. And then he fell of the face of the earth. I hear Anderson needs a victim.

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Terrell is a stud and at one point was a surefire "next big thing". SO glad to hear he's on the road back. Tonnes of skill and talent. He's a great fighter.

[mma #1 fan]

can any one tell me why i always mix this guy and Charles McCarthy up ??

[The Return Of......]

ive had really bad sinus infection problems for a couple of years now. nothing as severe as him but still i can feel his pain. when it hits it can fuck your whole world up. take your energy away, make you dizzy and give you vertigo. if he was suffering from this while training and fighting it could very well be the reason for his sudden decline. if so, and he is better now it will be fun to see if he has evolved. and if he has evolved he could be trouble for most of the mw in the division in the ufc

[BBG]

Good for him, I wish him luck. He had it a bit rough in his career, but he is truly very good.
Hopefully he can get things together, because as the guy said up top, things have changed quite a bit from the old days of "UFC MMA".

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[mma #1 fan]

and here it is 7 months later and he still has not booked a fight