LI raises big dollars for Isaiah Bird
![Isaiah Bird, 6, was born without legs but has excelled...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AM2JmM2RhZWEtOTM3NS00%3AZWEtOTM3NS00YWY1ZjBm%2Fisaiah-bird.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Isaiah Bird, 6, was born without legs but has excelled in wrestling. Credit: Miguel Rodriguez
At the end of May, we wrote about UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman helped put together a fundraiser for Isaiah Bird, a 6-year-old boy who was born without legs.
Power MMA in Garden City, owned by Ray Longo and Weidman, was packed that day. Cars were parked all along Commercial Avenue that afternoon.
There were demonstrations inside from Weidman, wrestling lessons from other UFC fighters, meet and greets, raffles, food and a donation box.
What did that amount to for Isaiah? Miguel Rodriguez, Isaiah's wrestling coach with the Long Beach Gladiators and his teaching assistant, said more than $14,000 was raised that afternoon for Isaiah, his younger brother and their mother, Bernadette Hopton.
Rodriguez also said a trust was established for Isaiah and that he received a custom wheelchair.
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