Quebec fighter learns she's 3 months pregnant days before major match

Quebec MMA fighter Corinne Laframboise never thought she'd be grateful for a sprained ankle.

But when she received the results of a routine blood test on Wednesday -- just one week before the biggest match of her career -- she couldn't have been more thankful.

"[The doctor] called me back and said, 'Corinne, that's not a joke: you're pregnant," recounted Laframboise.

Three months pregnant, in fact. Three months that, thanks to her ankle injury, she spent without fighting.

"I'm super happy," she told CTV News. Laframboise and her fiance, Éric, had tried for a baby in the past, but without success.

"I feel like it was meant to be," she said, describing how a series of events -- which seemed most unfortunate at the time -- likely ensured the viability of her pregnancy.

Laframboise's last official fight was in March of 2022. An ear injury sustained during training sent her on a several-month break, and she contemplated retiring altogether.

That's when she got the call from the UFC.

"It was the dream since the beginning of my career. For sure, I accepted that challenge," said the 34-year-old fighter from Saint-Mathieu-de-Belœil, Que.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Corinne Laframboise (@corinnelaframboise)

The match was scheduled for Sept. 5, 2023 in Las Vegas, giving her a few months to train. But just as she was about to start sparring again, she was hit with another injury. This time, an ankle sprain.

"My foot was blue, big, swollen, I wasn't able to walk," she described.

"I wasn't able to spar, so no kicking, no punching, nothing happened."

Despite this, Laframboise was still nervous about her baby's health after she got the call. She'd spent the last few months cutting calories and vigorously exercising in preparation for the fight, and at the end of August, she had two small practice spars.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Corinne Laframboise (@corinnelaframboise)

But following her first ultrasound earlier this week, she's relieved to report her baby is doing well.

"Like the mother and the father, he's a little warrior."

As for whether she plans to return to the ring later on, only time will tell.

"Let's see, after the baby, how it works with the [fighting] situation," said Laframboise. "But I'd prefer to be a mother for the moment."