Gary Goodridge, who secured his spot on highlight reels with his knockout elbows to Paul Herrera back at UFC 8, was diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) four years ago. Goodridge recently spoke with Inside MMA about what his life is like living with the disease. You can watch the entire feature on Goodridge above.
Here’s what Goodridge had to say about day to day life with CTE:
“I truly honestly believe that if it wasn’t for the pills that I’m taking, my life would have been done a long time ago,” Goodridge said. “I would have taken my life, absolutely. Mental disability is a huge thing. It’s got me crippled.”
“My days suck. When I wake up, I feel like going back to bed. I could get a job, then I’d forget I had a job. [Doctors told me] ‘it doesn’t get better. This is the best that you’ll be.'”
Goodridge hasn’t fought since 2010. He lost his last 8 MMA fights and his last 6 kickboxing bouts.
