UFC 193: Tough James Te Huna hoping to secure fight after undergoing shoulder surgery

JAMES Te Huna has fought, and won, with a dislocated shoulder. With both a broken hand and busted foot.

******DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION. SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EXCLUSIVE****** Contact Neil Bennett (3377) or Claire Harvey (3329) for permission UFC Fighter James Te Huna at his St Mary's training facility today for Adam MacDougall's Mad Fit section.

JAMES Te Huna has fought, and won, with a dislocated shoulder.

With both a broken hand and busted foot.

All up going 11 years and 24 fights without once withdrawing because of injury.

“But that attitude, I need to change it,’’ Te Huna concedes. “If I want to continue fighting in the UFC ... yeah, I need to start taking better care of myself.”

Sitting easily among contenders for Australia’s toughest athlete, Te Huna is currently on the mend from major shoulder surgery — his second reconstruction on the dodgy joint.

Yet rather than rush the recovery, like he has in the past, this 33-year-old Penrith light heavyweight is instead hoping to comeback for UFC 193 — the blockbuster event pencilled in for Etihad Stadium next November.

In a recent online poll conducted by The Daily Telegraph, Te Huna ranked among the fan’s top five local picks for the event — alongside Mark Hunt, Hector Lombard, Robert Whittaker and Jake Matthews.

James Te Huna (R) fires a jab while seeking to avoid an overhand right from Igor Pokrajac.

“And that’s definitely when I’d like to fight,’’ he says. “It’s been four months since surgery and I have anywhere between two and four months before I can begin training again.

“But I’d still want time to get myself right. There have been too many fights recently where I haven’t done that.”

And for proof, look no further than Te Huna’s most recent bout — where he headlined the first ever New Zealand UFC card.

Born and raised in the Kiwi city of Canterbury, Te Huna jumped at the chance to main event against Nate Marquardt, despite the fact he had only recently undergone elbow surgery.

Then, in the first week of training, he broke his thumb. Not the worst injury he has ever endured, but enough to completely ruin six weeks of an already shortened preparation.

Yet still Te Huna battled on.

Training with his thumb strapped, his shoulder popping out and, finally, 10 minutes before the fight, his finger dislocating.

James Te Huna lies prone on the canvas as Shogun Rua lands a right hand.

Asked if he should have withdrawn after that first break, Te Huna replies: “That would’ve been the smarter option, definitely.

“But I’ve never pulled out of a fight in my life.

“And while I’d like to say I never will, I do need to make better choices. Look after my body better.”

Yet Te Huna also admits the prolonged break has been a blessing.

“My body had so many problems, it got to the point where I hated going to training,’’ he continues. “As a fighter, you don’t recognise you’ve hit a wall — but looking back I definitely had.

“You look at a guy like Georges St-Pierre, he hit a wall and has taken a break.

“Before the Auckland fight, people close to me were saying it wasn’t a good idea. But I didn’t listen.

“Now I am. I’ve fixed everything, including the shoulder, and I’m still only 33. I have a lot of UFC fights in me yet.”

Originally published as UFC 193: Tough James Te Huna hoping to secure fight after undergoing shoulder surgery