John Wayne Parr has had an operation to replace part of his hip. The 44 year old had his hip resurfaced using a Birmingham Hip which should allow him to continue his competitive career.
The multiple time Muay Thai champion took to Instagram to post a video of him taking his first tentative steps after the procedure:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCFOlwAj4YB/
JWP signed with ONE Championship earlier this year. It doesn’t look like he will be making his promotional debut any time soon though, with a long period of rest and rehabilitation on the horizon.
Lats November Parr returned to the boxing ring after a 16 year absence to take on fellow Australian Anthony Mundine. He beat the former world champion by split decision and announced afterwards that he would be retiring.
However it appears he has had second thoughts after discovering he was eligible for the ‘Birmingham’ procedure. It is specifically designed for athletes and active people with chronic hip issues.
Parr’s old foe Yodsanklai Fairtex will be back in action at ONE: ‘No Surrender’ on July 31st. That card is likely to consist exclusively of Thailand based fighters due to the current travel restrictions.
Fighters based in Australia need a special exemption from the government in order to travel at present. However Alex Volkanovski seems to have found a way to fight at UFC 251 this month.
With most Asian countries also having restrictions on entry it could be a while before we see the likes of Martin Nguyen, Adrian Pang and Parr back in the ONE Championship cage or ring. For the latter the break has probably come at a good time, he will be hoping to be back in training again once the pandemic eases.
