MMA fighter Cris Lencioni is showing signs of progress after suffering cardiac arrest in June.
Lencioni, 28, took his first steps since the incident with the help of physical therapists and showed improved cognitive function, according to MMAFighting.com.
A video posted online also showed Lencioni walking with help on Sunday.
His wife, Marca Lencioni, told the outlet that the MMA fighter had been laughing at jokes and was attempting to speak.
“He’s making progress really fast,” Marca Lencioni said.
“It’s sheer will and determination.”
Lencioni was a rising star in the Bellator featherweight division and was training for a fight in Bellator 298 when he suffered from his cardiac arrest on June 8.
“The athletes at the gym were great and immediately called 911 and did their best to address his needs until paramedics arrived,” Marca Lencioni wrote on Instagram on June 19. “We are currently in another state. He has been under the care of excellent doctors with I and much of his family by his side.
“We are all hopeful for the progress we know he will continue to make.”
Lencioni was scheduled to fight again on Aug. 11 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Doctors found brain damage due to a lack of oxygen to his brain, and there had been a question of what kind of life Lencioni would be able to return to.
However, his recent progress has given doctors hope, and they’ve backed away from a recommendation that he be sent to a long-term acute care hospital in Idaho, Marca Lencioni told MMAFighting.
Doctors plan to put in an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator to prevent any further heart issues for the MMA fighter.
Lencioni made his Bellator debut in December at Bellator 289 and has a record of 11-3.
He is also on a four-fight winning streak.