Brad Tavares still has no real timeline for his return to the UFC after dealing with multiple setbacks in his recovery from a broken left arm.

Middleweight veteran Tavares (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) has been out of action since a unanimous decision loss to Israel Adesanya (15-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in July at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. He didn’t even know he hurt his arm in the fight, but once he went to the hospital afterward, the tailspin that’s been plaguing him for the past six months was set in motion.

“I broke the arm in the fight somewhere, I don’t know,” Tavares told MMAjunkie Radio. “They sent me to the ER to go stitch up my eye, I had a huge cut. While I’m sitting there, my arm swells up, and after that post-fight adrenaline dump you start feeling things. It doesn’t hurt; it’s just throbbing a little bit. I’m like, ‘While I’m here, while it’s covered under UFC’s insurance, I might as well get the (X-ray) just to be safe.’ I get the image, the guy is like, ‘Your arm is fractured, but the good news is it’s still in line, it hasn’t moved, so we’re going to put a splint.'”

Tavares suffered a five-round loss to Adesanya in a result that snapped his four-fight winning streak at 185 pounds. He was encouraged by the original diagnosis, but then things started to go awry.

Three months after the fight, Tavares’ doctor said he wasn’t happy with the progress and was now in favor of doing surgery. The Hawaiian wanted other opinions, though, and those said a “natural healing” process was the best move, even if it would require a little more time to complete.

Finally, Tavares visited a doctor who suggested a CT scan, which revealed there was “no bridging of the gap” in his break. That meant Tavares was dealing with a complete break for three months, and even using the arm in ways that would have to be considered unsafe.

Tavares decided to move forward with the surgery, which happened not long ago. It’s been a frustrating process, he said, but also served as a learning experience.

“Now going forward, if something like this happens again, I’ll know,” Tavares said. “But I’ve never, ever had surgery before.”

Watch the video above for a more detailed account from Tavares of his injury and recovery process.

For more on the upcoming UFC schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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Gallery Israel Adesanya def. Brad Tavares at TUF 27 Finale: Best photos view 24 images