UFC heavyweight Shane del Rosario hospitalized in critical condition after ‘full cardiac arrest’

Less than a week after being forced out of his next fight, things have taken a decidedly more critical turn for Shane del Rosario.

According to a statement released by his management team, the UFC heavyweight has been hospitalized in critical condition following a Tuesday heart episode that left him in “full cardiac arrest.”

The UFC has not released official word, but del Rosario’s team at Iridium Sports tweeted that del Rosario remains in the hospital after being resuscitated in the emergency room on Tuesday.

“Official Statement: Shane Del Rosario had a catastrophic cardiovascular collapse at home on Tuesday morning. He was brought to the hospital in full cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated in the emergency room back to a stable heart rhythm and blood pressure. He is currently in the coronary care unit critically ill. Our prayers are with him and his family.”

Del Rosario training partner Erik Apple on Wednesday posted to his Instagram account a photo of himself with del Rosario, along with a comment: “yesterday my friend had 2 heart attacks and he is still fighting for his life. I got to see him last night and hold his hand and I know he isn’t giving up so we shouldn’t either.”

As MMAjunkie was first to report last week, del Rosario (11-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) was forced out of a fight against Guto Inocente (6-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) that had been booked for next month’s UFC 168 card in Las Vegas. A rib injury was the cause of that removal.

There has been no word on whether the reported rib injury and the Tuesday incident that has him hospitalized are at all related.

Del Rosario, a 30-year-old from California, started his combat sports career in kickboxing and muay Thai before moving to MMA in 2006. He started his career 11-0 with 10 first-round stoppages.

After going 8-0 with wins for M-1 Challenge and EliteXC, del Rosario signed with Strikeforce and stopped Lolohea Mahe and Lavar Johnson in the first round.

He was booked for a fight against Daniel Cormier, but after being in a car accident, a herniated disc kept him out of the fight. He wouldn’t compete again until moving to the UFC, where he was stopped by Stipe Miocic in May 2012 and Pat Barry this past December.

Del Rosario tried to return over the summer against Dave Herman, but was forced out with an injury. And, of course, injury kept him out of the planned Inocente fight that would’ve been his first in more than a year.

For more on this story as it develops, stay tuned to MMAjunkie.