If there’s one fighter who’s taken some serious damage to his body, it’s former UFC fighter, James Vick. ‘The Texecutioner’ departed from Dana White’s promotion after his contract expired in 2019. Vick’s post-UFC career would see him get the big gloves on and compete in a couple of boxing matches, and he turned out to be pretty decent, amassing a modest 2-2 record. But what came next was a new flavor in the combat sports scene: Karate Combat.

James Vick saw his first two fights go to decisions, winning one and losing one in the process. However, his last fight gave the combat sports community a big scare as UFC veteran fell victim to a serious switch kick from his opponent who’s also an ex-UFC fighter, Rafael Alves, and the president of the promotion, Asim Zaidi, claims that Vick wasn’t in his senses for two days after that knockout.

“[He was unconscious] for a couple of days. They put him in a self-induced coma. And he had a respiratory [machine] to make sure he stays breathing,” Asim Zaidi stated on his recent appearance on ‘The Jaxxon Podcast’. The KC president didn’t like what he saw in that fight back in June 2024 and has decided that he will not let James Vick fight again because it’s not “morally” right.

“I went to him when he woke up, and he’s like, ‘What did he catch me with?’ Switch kick, and he’s like ‘Oh man, I want to get back in there’ … Thank God he’s okay man. But, I can’t morally want to do that. I’m not gonna put him back in there,” Asim Zaidi added. Although it’s been five years since James Vick left the UFC, fans are experts at keeping track of past roster members, but when they came across this news, they raised concerns as well.

Fans don’t think James Vick should continue fighting

First and foremost, the fans on Reddit were concerned about the well-being of the former UFC fighter. A couple of fans stated, “That’s horrifying,” and “Stop booking him for fights then,” after witnessing the brutal nature of that kick from Rafael Alves, who’s known for showcasing flashy moves, on James Vick. Fans also mentioned having trouble trying to find medical updates about ‘The Texecutioner’ after the knockout and believe that it might be the right time for Vick to call it a career. “That’s brutal man. It was hard to find updates when it first happened. Hope he doesn’t fight again for his own sake,” One of those fans added.

There’s just nobody in the MMA community who wants to see James Vick fight again, and if he needs any example, he should look no further than Tony Ferguson. Fans have seen enough veterans who suffer consequential damage in their latter years. Hence, in that regard, a couple of fans commented, “Jesus. I hope nothing but the best for him,” and, “Jesus that was scary, hopefully this is the last we see of Vick.”

One of the most memorable rivalries in James Vick’s UFC run was the one with ‘The Highlight’ Justin Gaethje. He’d famously promised to send the former BMF champion to the lower echelons of the sport in 2018, which he couldn’t as he’d get knocked out in under 2 minutes of the first. “I remember when he said would send gaethje back to the b leagues. Hope he recovers,” a fan stated, reminiscing about the Vick-Gaethje rivalry. Meanwhile, one fan appeared devastated, as he added, “What a fall from grace. Vick was cruising to the top 5 too,” seeing how Vick’s decline in his skill level after being one of the top lightweights in Dana White‘s promotion.

James Vick seems to have gotten better from his condition, but is he fighting again? Well, that’s not clear yet as we’ll have to wait and see how things pan out for the UFC veteran in the months to come.