Jett Lawrence missed all three SMX playoff rounds after ankle surgery
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 3, 2026
Lawrence surgery update
Honda HRC Progressive rider Jett Lawrence missed all three rounds of the Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs after follow-up surgery on his right ankle forced him out of the postseason. The move closed the door on another title run for the three-time defending 450SMX champion, who and his team decided to shut things down so the ankle could heal fully and he could return next season without pain. Lawrence had dealt with the issue for months. The ankle was first hurt last December, then flared up again at Ironman Raceway. The second hit brought pain and instability, and those problems kept him from fully clearing the injury before the SMX playoffs arrived. His absence changed the shape of the championship, too. The postseason was set to begin in Columbus, Ohio, and Lawrence had been positioned to compete in the field. Instead, he began the recovery that followed another round of surgery. The decision came after a stretch in which he kept racing through the injury rather than stepping aside earlier. That choice kept him racing during the Pro Motocross season, but it also showed how much he had been fighting to compete through the injury. The focus then turned away from points and podiums and toward getting the ankle back to where it needed to be.
Lawrence injury history
The missed postseason added another chapter to a run of injuries that limited Lawrence throughout the 2025 SMX calendar. Since the start of 2025, he appeared in 25 of 62 SMX events. That number tells the story as clearly as any result sheet. He missed the entire AMA Supercross season because of the ankle injury, then came back to race the full Pro Motocross Championship while still managing the issue. Even then, the ankle never gave him a clean path. He still won four rounds in Pro Motocross and stayed near the front often enough to finish second overall. Hunter Lawrence edged him by two points, a narrow margin that showed how strong Jett remained despite the injury over the course of the summer. The renewed ankle trouble at Ironman Raceway brought pain and instability back into the picture, which made the decision to stop even more direct. Lawrence and his team opted for surgery and a reset instead of pushing through another postseason. That decision fit the pattern of the year. He had to manage one setback after another, and each one cut into his schedule. Still, the results he produced in Pro Motocross proved he could race at a high level even while carrying a bad ankle. The problem was never whether he could win races. The problem was whether he could keep doing it without making the injury worse.
Lawrence title chase
Missing the SMX playoffs ended Lawrence’s chance to win a fourth straight 450SMX title, and that was the biggest competitive blow of the story. He entered the postseason as the three-time defending champion. The playoffs would have given him three more chances to extend that run, but surgery removed that path before the first gate drop in Columbus. That left the title race open to everyone else while Lawrence shifted his attention to next year. The team’s goal was simple: get the ankle back to 100% and return pain-free. That was the only target that mattered. It also gave context to the risk he carried by riding through the injury for as long as he did. Those facts explained why the decision mattered so much. Lawrence was still a threat, yet his ankle would not allow a full postseason push. His absence also changed the complexion of the series for the rest of the field, since he would not be on the gate. Honda HRC Progressive was set to field Hunter Lawrence, Jo Shimoda and Chance Hymas in Columbus, but Jett’s spot was gone. The championship moved ahead without him, and Lawrence waited for his ankle to recover before trying to add a fourth straight crown.
