'My biggest motivation after crash was to hold my daughter'

Liam McCracken was determined to make a full recovery after the crash [Liam McCracken] An MMA fighter who was unable to walk after being hit by a bus has said his biggest motivation during his recovery was to be able to hold his daughter again. Liam McCracken was building a promising career in mixed martial arts but his life changed in a split second when he was hit by a bus while out training in Huyton on Merseyside in September 2023. The 24-year-old, from Prescot, Liverpool, suffered a broken neck, legs, ribs, pelvis and nose after being dragged 18m (60ft).

"I was getting to the point of becoming an elite athlete, and then I went from that to not being able to walk, so it was obviously very difficult," he said. "But I had a little daughter at the time who had just turned one. "That was like the biggest motivation as I couldn't hold my daughter for months.

"So that was my first little goal, I wanted to be able to hold her again. " The road to recovery has been long, taking McCracken two years to rebuild his health and fight again. McCracken was hit by a bus on Pilch Lane East in Huyton [Liam McCracken] "Physically obviously the challenges were terrible, but I had obviously a lot of doubt coming back," he said.

"My first fight back was sort of just seeing if I was going to be able to do it. "I still feel lucky in a way because I feel like I was an inch away from either not being here or it being a lot worse. "It's a crazy thing to happen to you but it's also even crazier to make a recovery like I have.