LeRoy Johnson Undergoes Surgery on Neck Injury After Brutal PFL Knockout

MMA fighter LeRoy Johnson suffered a neck injury at PFL 7 that required emergency surgery Thursday night following a knockout loss to Muhammed De'Reese at the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 

Johnson's manager, Daniel Rubenstein, provided an update Friday on Twitter:

De'Reese and Johnson were locked in a grapple when De'Reese delivered a knee to the chin of Johnson, who fell awkwardly with his head hitting the canvas near the edge of the cage.

Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie noted Johnson remained down on the mat for eight minutes before being transported to a local hospital.

The 38-year-old Detroit native owns an 8-3 career record since his pro debut in 2014. His last loss prior to Thursday night came in October 2016 against Jason Riley. All three of his career defeats have come via first-round knockout.

Rubenstein and a PFL official each told Bohn more updates about Johnson's status would be made public as they become available.