MMA Fight One Week After Flow3 Laser Surgery

International sumo wrestler turned MMA fighter Kaido Höövelson—known as Baruto—had Flow3 laser surgery at KSA Silmakeskus a few years ago. A week later, he stepped into the octagon. Clear vision. No worry. No regrets.

"I won three out of four matches," he says. "And I owe that clarity to KSA."

The Unexpected Invitation

Baruto had just finished his Flow3 procedure—a touch-free, blade-free laser treatment—when the call came. An MMA promoter wanted him to compete.

He hesitated for a moment. Fresh eyes. Fresh procedure. It seemed risky.

But the dream was real, and the opportunity was now. He decided to fight.

"I was nervous at first," Baruto admits. "But the moment I stepped in, I saw everything. My opponent's movements, his reactions—crystal clear. No blurriness. No doubt. It made all the difference."

Why Flow3 Made This Possible

Dr. Ants Haavel, the surgeon who performed Baruto's procedure, explains the difference.

"Flow3 is flapless. There's no incision, no flap, no cut on the cornea. That means there's nothing to tear or reopen, even under extreme physical stress," Dr. Haavel says.

Traditional laser surgery creates a flap—a thin layer of corneal tissue that's lifted, reshaped, and replaced. That flap needs time to fully seal. Contact sports, heavy pressure, trauma—any of these can compromise healing.

Flow3 removes that risk entirely.

"After one week, lifestyle restrictions are over," Dr. Haavel continues. "You can train hard, compete, take contact. Your eyes are truly safe. That's why athletes choose this procedure—and why our entire clinical team chose it for themselves."

From Blurred Vision to Sharp Focus

Baruto's vision problems didn't start overnight.

As a young sumo wrestler in Japan, he didn't think much about his eyesight. His family had always had good vision. Why would he be different?

But then things changed.

When he stood at the ring's edge to greet his opponent, the figure across from him became less clear. During matches, he found himself squinting to track movement. Matches he might have won slipped away because he simply couldn't see what his opponent was doing.

"In sumo, you need to see every tiny shift in your opponent's body," Baruto explains. "When that gets blurry, your advantage disappears."

Living in Tokyo didn't help. The city is dense, crowded, close. Everything happens nearby. Your eyes adapt to near vision—scanning crowds, reading signs, looking at things just in front of you. Distance vision gets neglected, and the problem worsens without you noticing.

The Wrong Shortcut

"I'm Estonian," Baruto laughs. "So like a typical Estonian man, I didn't go to an optometrist. I just bought designer glasses that looked good and let me see... well, mostly clearly."

It was a mistake.

As years passed, his vision deteriorated further. Eventually he saw a proper eye doctor and got a real prescription. But by then, the damage was done. The years of squinting, the chronic blur, the constant mental effort just to see clearly—it had taken its toll on his sports career and his quality of life.

"I developed this awful habit of squinting all the time," he recalls. "I'd be coaching, and I couldn't even see who was wrestling on the mat without asking my assistant. That's no way to live when vision is your livelihood."

The Decision

Eventually, Baruto learned about laser eye surgery. Specifically, about Flow3—the flapless approach that was designed for people who live active, demanding lives.

He came to KSA Silmakeskus in Tallinn.

Dr. Ants Haavel, who has performed over 55,000 procedures and is trusted by his own clinical team (they chose Flow3 for their own eyes), assessed him and confirmed: he was a perfect candidate.

The procedure took minutes. Recovery began immediately.

One week later, he was in the MMA ring.

And he could see.

"That's the thing people don't always understand about vision problems," Baruto says. "It's not just about reading a chart at the eye doctor. It's about living. Competing. Moving through the world without this constant mental tax of not quite seeing clearly. When that's gone—when you just see—everything changes."

The Proof

Three wins out of four matches.

One week post-op.

No complications.

No regrets.

If you're an athlete, or if you simply live an active life and are tired of glasses or contacts holding you back, Flow3 might be worth exploring. KSA Silmakeskus has the expertise, the track record, and the proof—not just in numbers (55,000+ procedures) but in the fact that the surgeons themselves chose this procedure for their own eyes.

Baruto's only regret is that he didn't do it sooner.

"Clear vision changes everything," he says. "Don't wait like I did."