Jake Hager has undergone another surgery, this time to reattach a detached retina in the eye he injured at Power Slap 23, more than a month after his loss to Johnny Magna.
Slap News shared the update on October 23 in an Instagram post, with the information coming from Hager’s fiancée, Patricia Blackburn, who also competes in Power Slap. As the blood in the eye cleared, doctors found the retina was detached during a weekly follow-up. Hager had urgent surgery to reattach it, and doctors said it went better than expected. Slap News described what lies ahead as “a very sensitive and unpredictable recovery.”
Hager lost by TKO in the second round on September 17 in Lubbock, Texas, bleeding from his left eye after Magna’s slap. His team argued the strike should have been ruled a foul, but the fight was stopped and Magna got the win. After emergency eye surgery, Dana White told reporters following Dana White’s Contender Series on September 22 that Hager went into surgery the night of the fight and was being sent to a specialist in Miami. White called it probably the worst injury the company has seen across UFC and Power Slap.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter earlier this month that Hager had suffered a ruptured eyeball but was beginning to get some sight back, and that more surgeries were possible. Slap News reported on October 8 that Hager could see out of the injured eye, though how well remained unclear. His Inside The Ropes show in Glasgow was cancelled in the days after the injury.
Hager is 1-2 in Power Slap. He won his debut in April, was knocked out by Amanpreet Singh at Power Slap 21, and then suffered the eye injury against Magna. He signed a six-appearance deal with the promotion in March, and whether he returns to slapping is unknown.
