Cancer patient from KC had unusual wish granted: A UFC fighter shaved his head
Sometimes you have to say: “What the heck!” and take some chances.
That advice from the 1980s movie “Risky Business” remains relevant today, as a UFC fan named Randy can attest.
Randy lives in Kansas City and is excited about the Ultimate Fighting Championship coming to the T-Mobile Center on Saturday. Unfortunately Randy is battling esophageal cancer, but he reached out to UFC’s Carlos Prates in an Instagram direct message.
“Hey, I was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I’m going to lose my hair,” Randy wrote on April 15. “I live in Kansas City and will be at the fight night. It would be a huge honor for one of my favorite up and coming fighters to shave my head. I’ll buy you a pack of smokes.”
Prates responded and said he would love to meet, but the cigarettes weren’t the enticement. It was the chance to help brighten the day of someone dealing with cancer.
“I enjoy my time here. I’m really excited to eat barbecue here, they say barbecue in Kansas is really nice,” Prates said Wednesday at a news conference. “I enjoyed the time here, meet people. I make a new friend, Randy, he is now part of the team. I enjoy the time here, it’s really nice.”
UFC shared photos and videos of the meeting, and Prates did shave Randy’s head. Prates added Randy to his Fighting Nerds team.
“This has been an amazing experience, literally once in a lifetime,” Randy said in one of the videos. “I’m just so happy that this came to fruition, and I just appreciate the Fighting Nerds and the whole team with all my heart.”
You can scroll through the post below to see Prates cutting Randy’s hair and what they had to say. Oh, and Prates got that pack of cigarettes.
