Jogger finds badly injured MMA fighter in Guadalupe Creek

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - A professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter was discovered badly injured and submerged in Guadalupe Creek by a jogger on Monday in San Jose. 

22-year-old Sam Romero is recovering in the hospital with a collapsed lung and fractured pelvis, but what happened to him is still a mystery. 

Romero reportedly was out for drinks with friends Sunday night before heading home. The group went their separate ways, but Romero never made it home.  

When he's not in the gym training, he's working as a bouncer in downtown San Jose. 

His coach, Erik Benaquisto said Romero is an "amazing kid." 

"He teaches class here in the morning and then goes and lifts weights. He comes back, trains again, trains super hard at night and jumps over and does his MMA and onto jiu jitsu," Romero said. 

The jogger found Romero Monday morning in the creek under the Highway 87 overpass. 

Benaquisto said Romero was in the water for 6 to 8 hours with hypothermia. 

"I think everyone just expected him to die. And then when we realized he'd be fine, we expected him to be a quadriplegic," Benaquisto. "He survived the heart surgery, the back surgery, he's going in for more surgeries. He's very beat up. He has a long journey ahead of him." 

His road to recovery has been miraculous so far and fans are sending well wishes and signing gloves with get well messages. Benaquisto is confident he'll fight again. 

The case has been turned over by San Jose police to the California Highway Patrol, who are investigating to find out exactly what happened. CHP is only saying the fighter fell from the overpass. It is not clear if he was pushed or fell on his own. There are no indications any crime was committed.