Fatalities in mixed martial arts contests

Last updated

As of 2023, there have been twenty recorded deaths resulting from sanctioned mixed martial arts contests and nine from unregulated bouts, none however in the largest MMA promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship. A 2006 study suggests that the risk of injury in general in MMA is comparable to that in professional boxing. [1] For professional boxing matches, the Manuel Velazquez Boxing Fatality Collection lists 923 deaths during the 118-year period of 1890–2008.

Contents

List of fatalities

In sanctioned fights

Sam Vasquez

35-year-old Sam Vasquez collapsed after taking a punch to the chin during a fight on October 20, 2007. [2] After losing consciousness and experiencing what appeared to be a seizure, he was taken to Saint Joseph Medical Center Critical Care Unit. He was diagnosed with a subdural hemorrhage for which a section of the skull bone was removed to allow the brain to swell without compressing it. Additional swelling led to the placement of a tube to allow cerebral spinal fluid to be drained out of the cavities in the brain to make room for more swelling as well as to allow the monitoring of pressure in the brain. He slipped into a coma for 48 hours until his death on November 30.

Vasquez's death was officially ruled as a death due to complications of blunt trauma of the head with a subdural hemorrhage. [3] Vasquez was the first fighter to die from injuries sustained in sanctioned mixed martial arts competition in North America. [4]

Michael Kirkham

30-year-old Michael Kirkham competed at Dash Entertainment/King MMA "Confrontation at the Convocation Center" at the Aiken Convocation Center in Aiken, South Carolina, on June 26, 2010. [5] His opponent Carlos Iraburo had Kirkham on the canvas seconds into his pro debut; [6] [7] Iraburo then landed a few strikes to the head of his grounded opponent leading to a referee stoppage 41 seconds into the match. Kirkham soon lost consciousness and never recovered. [6] He was pronounced dead two days after the fight. [8] An autopsy report listed the cause of death as "subarachnoid hemorrhage of the brain". [9] Kirkham had been TKO'd in his final amateur bout on April 24, 2010, leading Dr. Joe Estwanik, the former medical advisor to the North Carolina Boxing Authority to speculate: "This could have been second-impact syndrome." [6] Typically, to avoid such, combat sporting authorities have the right to suspend a contestant longer than the normal 45 days (with 30 days of no contact) for a knockout after tests. Kirkham's MMA match occurred 63 days after his final amateur match. The event occurred in June 2010, when South Carolina MMA rules were still in its infancy after Act 53 became law without Governor Mark Sanford's signature on June 3, 2009. There was only a 30-day rule for knockouts in effect.

Following Kirkham's death, the South Carolina Athletic Commission revised combat sport rules to change the suspension period to 60 days for knockouts and 30 days for technical knockouts. That took effect in 2012.

Tyrone Mims

30-year-old Tyrone Mims was competing in an amateur mixed martial arts show on August 11, 2012, at Conflict MMA Fight Night at the Point IV in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Tyrone became weak and tired in the second round and the referee stopped the bout because he was unable to continue. The referee and cage-side physician both checked on him and he responded to them that he was fine, just tired. Shortly after being helped back to the locker room by teammates, Tyrone lost consciousness. EMS attempted to revive him at the scene and transported him to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:27 p.m. [10] The Charleston County Coroner performed a "gross autopsy", which looks at visible injuries, and failed to reach a cause of death. [11] [12] [13] The final autopsy results were also inconclusive, no evidence of a concussion or brain trauma were detected, and the toxicology report did not reveal the presence of drugs or alcohol. Coroner Rae Wooten speculated that Mims "might have had an irregular heart because of some electrical dysfunction" stating: "That obviously isn't seen after death. Once that's completed, there's no evidence of that." And concluding: "There's just nothing here that explains his death." [14]

Booto Guylain

29-year-old Booto Guylain, a Congolese fighter, experienced a head injury during the third round of his MMA bout against Keron Davies at EFC AFRICA 27 held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 27, 2014. He was stabilized on-site and taken to the hospital. He died a week later on March 5, 2014, as a result of complications related to the swelling of the brain. [15]

Donshay White

37-year-old Donshay White of Radcliff, Kentucky lost a sanctioned amateur heavyweight bout against Ricky Muse in Louisville, Kentucky by TKO in the second round at an event titled "Hardrock MMA 90" on July 16, 2017. It was his first bout since 2015. After the fight, he collapsed backstage and was taken to an ambulance where he died. [16] [17] He arrived at Saints Mary and Elizabeth Hospital with no pulse and was pronounced dead at 9:02 p.m. [18] The cause of his death was ruled as hypertensive heart disease. The autopsy revealed that White had high blood pressure but was not taking medication for it. Despite this, White passed a physical on the day of the fight. [19]

Rondel Clark

26-year-old Rondel Clark, a Sutton, Massachusetts native, lost his second amateur match at the Plymouth Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Clark, competing at welterweight, entered the bout with a (1–0) amateur record and faced (0-2) amateur Ryan Dunn at an event titled "Cage Titans XXXV", which took place on August 12, 2017. [20] The match was halted approximately two minutes into the third round when Clark appeared too fatigued to intelligently defend himself and the match was ruled a TKO victory for Dunn. Clark reportedly had difficulty breathing and following a post-fight medical examination was carried out on a stretcher [21] and transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital- Plymouth. He was then transferred to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts where he died on August 15, 2017. [22] Rondel reportedly took very little damage in his losing effort; however, his kidneys began to fail at the hospital. [23] It was later determined that the kidney failure was due to severe dehydration which lead to his entire system shutting down. Rondel had the sickle cell trait, which likely accelerated his deterioration. The autopsy officially concluded he died from extreme rhabdomyolysis, which is the rapid breakdown of muscle tissue caused by physical overexertion combined with dehydration. [24] [25] In 2018, the Association of Boxing Commissions, the group that oversees athletic commissions in North America, donated $5,000 to the Rondel Clark Foundation which was set up to raise awareness about extreme weight cutting and severe dehydration. [26]

Mateus Fernandes

22-year-old Mateus Fernandes died hours after an amateur match in Manaus, Brazil. He faced Obed Pereira on March 30, 2019, in a bantamweight bout at Remulus Fight which was sanctioned by the Amazonas Athletic Commission (CAMMA). After winning the first two rounds, he was dropped to the canvas by a combination of punches and the referee halted the contest. Fernandes then reportedly had seizures and was transported to Raimundo Accident and Emergency for treatment. While at the hospital, he reportedly suffered four heart attacks, dying at 11:45 p.m. local time. [27] Fernandes was part of a program that helped people deal with drug addiction through martial arts and it has been alleged that after undergoing exams the fighter spent the night before the fight taking drugs. [27] Fernandes passed his pre-fight blood exams, but did not have his heart or brain checked prior to the contest. [28]

Justin Thornton

38-year old Justin Thornton was knocked out 19 seconds into the first of five two-minute rounds at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s BKFC 20 match in Biloxi, Mississippi on August 20, 2021, in a heavyweight contest against Dillon Cleckler at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The contest was governed as a mixed martial arts match legally because of Mississippi state rules. Thornton was partially paralysed and died October 4. [29]

In unsanctioned fights

Alfredo Castro Herrera

15-year-old Alfredo Castro Herrera died on April 14, 1981, following an unsanctioned "mixed martial arts" match described in the St. Louis Globe Democrat as "boxing mixed with karate and judo" (April 15, 1981 issue) in Tijuana, Mexico, where he was knocked out. Herrera's opponent was Angel Luis Rodriguez. [30]

Douglas Dedge

31-year-old Douglas Dedge was an American mixed martial artist who was the first known American competitor to be fatally injured in an MMA fight and the first death in the modern era of MMA. On March 16, 1998, Dedge competed at an unsanctioned "World Super Challenge" event in Kyiv, Ukraine. After tapping out following multiple strikes to his head, Dedge stood and almost immediately collapsed back to the mat. Dedge was then taken to the Kyiv Institute of Surgery where he died two days later on March 18 of what the chief emergency room doctor termed "severe brain injuries".

Dedge was reported to have passed out during a training session leading up to the bout and it is now widely believed (though never officially confirmed) that Dedge had a preexisting medical condition. [31] [32]

Mike Mittelmeier

20-year-old Mike Mittelmeier died April 27, 2012, following an unsanctioned April 21 event in Bolivia. After taking down his opponent and applying a leg lock, his opponent illegally kicked him in the head with the heel of his foot, knocking him out. The fight was stopped and Mittelmeier was pronounced the winner by disqualification. A few seconds later, he collapsed (later being diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage that left him comatose). It is alleged that the promoters did not have a doctor or ambulance standing by and it took a long time before he was transferred to a hospital. [33] [34]

Dustin Jenson

26-year-old Dustin Jenson died May 24, 2012, at Rapid City Regional Hospital in South Dakota, following an unsanctioned "RingWars" event on May 18 at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City where he tapped out. Jenson then watched the next two fights before going to the locker room, where he had a seizure. The autopsy listed the cause of death as subdural hemorrhage resulting from blunt force trauma to the head, that was related to an injury suffered approximately a week prior.

Although the timeline for the injury is consistent with the event on May 18, 2012, there is no conclusive evidence that the injury was sustained in the fight. [35] [36] [37]

Felix Pablo Elochukwu

35-year-old Nigerian-born Pablo Elochukwu, an Ontario resident, died after competing in his first amateur mixed martial arts bout in the Amateur Fighting Club in Port Huron, Michigan, on April 7, 2013. According to reports, neither he nor his opponent was required to undergo pre-fight medicals for their bout. Sometime in the third round, Elochukwu was mounted and was not properly defending himself causing the referee to halt the bout. Elochukwu appeared to be fine during the announcement of the final decision and walked away on his own accord but on the way to the dressing room, he stopped and sat down citing exhaustion. Those around Elochukwu noticed something was wrong and offered him some orange juice, believing his blood sugar may have dropped significantly (he was said to be hypoglycaemic). [38] Moments after being helped onto a chair, he fell from it. A certified first responder in the crowd noticed Elochukwu's distress as Elochukwu was being helped to a seat, he was in and out of consciousness as Ryan Puzan, the first responder from the crowd, reached him. Puzan was told by event staff that paramedics had been called and were on their way; he, however, doubted that, as EMS did not show up until forty minutes later according to Puzan. Elochukwu stopped showing any vital signs a few minutes after floating in and out of consciousness, Puzan and an RN from the crowd then performed CPR and breathing treatments on Elochukwu until the arrival of paramedics. [38] The ambulance was dispatched at 9:31 p.m. Elochukwu was treated and pronounced dead at 10:12 p.m. at Port Huron Hospital. [39] [40]

There were said to be no hired medics or doctors at the venue at the time Elochukwu's collapse. According to Ryan Puzan: "if Felix had access to a defibrillator there, he could be walking and talking today." [38]

Michigan was among about a dozen U.S. states in which amateur mixed martial arts bouts are legal, but unregulated. [41] The death of Elochukwu prompted the Michigan legislator to quickly regulate amateur mixed martial arts. [42] State Representative Harvey Santana commenting on the legislation stated: "The unfortunate events that happened over the weekend kind of catapulted it faster".

UFC (the largest MMA promotion company in the world) executive Tom Wright, who heads up the organizations efforts in Canada, fielded questions about Elochukwu's death on April 10 at UFC 161 press conference in Winnipeg. Saying

"What we don't know is whether or not there were any pre-existing medical conditions that Pablo was suffering from, and in a regulated environment, we would have known that," he said. "We also don't know if the referees were properly trained. We don't know whether or not there were the appropriate EMTs and ambulances and medical precautions in place. We don't even know if it was a fair fight as far as if the competitors were evenly balanced." "Those are kinds of things we would know if the sport had been regulated, if the event had been regulated," he continued. "It speaks to the importance of regulation in our sport, why it's important that we have the appropriate kind of rigor and standards, from medical care to pre- and post-fight medical testing to drug testing to insuring the health and safety of these athletes is always first and foremost. And in the case of an unregulated event, you don't know whether those things are in place, which is why we as an organization have always run to regulation." [43]

Ramin Zeynalov

27-year-old Azerbaijani Ramin Zeynalov died in March 2015 while competing in an amateur MMA bout in Azerbaijan. A takedown by the rival KO'd Zeynalov caused his head to hit the canvas with medical personnel unable to revive him. The cause of death was later deemed a brain hemorrhage. [44]

Jameston Lee-Yaw

47-year-old Trinidad-born Jameston Lee-Yaw died in April 2015 while competing in an amateur MMA bout at the SouthShore Mall in Aberdeen, Washington. The death was attributed to kidney failure. Lee-Yaw collapsed in the ring and was carried to a dressing room where it was discovered he was having trouble breathing. Lee-Yaw was initially taken to Grays Harbor Community Hospital and then transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, where he died. Twin Dragons Center Mixed Martial Arts, which has training facilities at the mall, billed the event as Brawl at the Mall. In Washington state, amateur bouts that take place at a gym are not required to have medical staff on hand and leave the training facility and its staff responsible for the health and safety of participants. It is unknown what caused the kidney failure. Furthermore, Lee-Yaw's age (47) would by law disqualify him from participation as a fighter in many states, which have age limits similar to those in boxing. [45] [46]

João Carvalho

28-year-old João Carvalho, a Portuguese fighter, died 48 hours after his bout with Charlie Ward. The match took place at Total Extreme Fighting 1, on April 11, 2016. The event was held at Dublin, Ireland's National Stadium. [47] Following Carvalho's death, Ireland's Minister of State Tourism and Sport Michael Ring issued a pledge to regulate mixed martial arts in Ireland. At the time of Carvalho's death, there was no governing body for professional MMA in Ireland but the Irish Amateur Pankration Association (IAPA) oversaw the sport at the amateur level. [48]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mixed martial arts</span> Full-contact hybrid combat sport

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling, incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shooto</span> Mixed martial arts promoter based in Japan

Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a mixed martial arts promotion. It is considered one of the first true mixed martial arts competitions, with its Vale Tudo Japan events being essential to the rise of Pride Fighting Championships and the development of modern MMA. Many Japanese MMA fighters had their start at Shooto and the organization still holds both professional and amateur tournaments.

Karl James Noons is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, as well as a former professional boxer and kickboxer. Noons competed for UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM and EliteXC. He is the former EliteXC Lightweight Champion and runner up for the StrikeForce title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimbo Slice</span> Bahamian mixed martial artist (1974–2016)

Kevin Ferguson, better known as Kimbo Slice, was a Bahamian-born American mixed martial artist, professional boxer, and actor. Originally a bare-knuckle boxer, he became noted for his role in mutual combat street fight videos which were spread online, leading Rolling Stone to call him "The King of the Web Brawlers".

Nicholas Catone is a retired American mixed martial artist. Catone competed from 2009 to 2015 in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Ali Isaevich Isaev is a Russian-Azerbaijani professional mixed martial artist and former amateur wrestler. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of Bellator MMA. He has also formerly competed for Fight Nights Global and Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he was the 2019 Heavyweight Tournament Champion. He competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in men's freestyle wrestling at 125 kilos where Isaev placed 17th.

Andy Foster is the current executive director of the California State Athletic Commission (2012–present) and former Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission (2008–2012) and former professional mixed martial artist.

Rashid Magomedgadzhievich Magomedov is a Russian mixed martial artist. He is a former amateur Light heavyweight and Middleweight boxer, and competed at the lightweight mixed martial artist in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Magomedov is also a former M-1 Global welterweight champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Thompson (fighter)</span> American mixed martial artist (born 1983)

Stephen Randall Thompson is an American professional mixed martial artist and former professional kickboxer. Thompson currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a full-contact kickboxer, Thompson was undefeated through 37 amateur and 20 professional matches. Thompson is regarded as one of the most accomplished strikers in the UFC. As of November 12, 2024, he is #10 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Ultimate Challenge MMA is a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It is shown live on London Live in the UK, Fight Now TV in the US and on Viewster in several other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Samman</span> American mixed martial arts fighter

Joshua Kaleb Samman was an American mixed martial artist who, at the time of his death, competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and also competed for Bellator MMA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's mixed martial arts</span> Overview of Womens mixed martial arts

While mixed martial arts is primarily a male dominated sport, it does have female athletes. For instance, Female competition in Japan includes promotions such as DEEP Jewels. Now defunct promotions that featured female fighters were Valkyrie, and Smackgirl. Professional mixed martial arts organizations in the United States that invite women to compete are industry leader Ultimate Fighting Championship, the all female Invicta Fighting Championships, Resurrection Fighting Alliance, Bellator Fighting Championships, and Legacy Fighting Championship. Now defunct promotions that featured female fighters were Strikeforce and EliteXC. There has been a growing awareness of women in mixed martial arts due to popular female fighters and personalities such as Amanda Nunes, Megumi Fujii, Gina Carano, Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, Alexa Grasso, and Joanna Jędrzejczyk and among others. Carano became known as "the face of women's MMA" after appearing in a number of EliteXC events. This was furthered by her appearances on MGM Television's 2008 revival of their game show American Gladiators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darrell Horcher</span> American mixed martial artist (born 1987)

Darrell Joseph Horcher is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2010, he formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator and the Cage Fury Fighting Championships, where he was the Lightweight Champion.

Charlie Ward is an Irish mixed martial artist currently competing in the middleweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2014, he formerly competed for the UFC.

Shamil Gamzatov is a Russian mixed martial artist competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional since 2012, he has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Series of Fighting, Absolute Championship Berkut and competed in the Middleweight division of the Professional Fighters League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roufusport</span> Martial arts gym in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US

Roufusport is a mixed martial arts gym based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Known as one of the top gyms in MMA, it has produced current UFC champion Belal Muhammad, former UFC champions, Anthony Pettis and Tyron Woodley.

Gabriel Green is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shavkat Rakhmonov</span> Kazakh mixed martial artist (born 1994)

Shavkat Bakhtibaevich Rakhmonov is a Kazakh professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Rakhmonov is also a former M-1 Global Welterweight Champion. As of December 19, 2023, he is #3 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Peter Queally is an Irish mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2012, he has also competed for Extreme Fighting Championship, BAMMA, Cage Warriors and Fight Nights Global.

References

  1. Bledsoe et al., Incidence of Injury in Professional Mixed Martial Arts Competition, Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2006).
  2. Meltzer, Dave (2007-12-02). "MMA fighter Vasquez dies weeks after fight". Sports.Yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  3. Martinez, Jaime (2008-04-18). "Formal Autopsy on Vasquez Published". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  4. Martinez, Jaime (2008-06-02). "Texas Committee Reviews Vasquez Death, Autopsy, and Future Protocol". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  5. "Michael Kirkham's Professional Record". MixedMartialArts.com. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  6. 1 2 3 Perez, A.J. (2010-07-15). "Death in the Cage: The Michael Kirkham Story". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  7. Marrocco, Steven (2010-06-29). "Following death of Michael Kirkham, opponent's trainer says nothing seemed afoul". MMAJunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  8. "Fighter Dies in South Carolina After First Pro Bout". Sherdog.com. 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  9. Sloan, Mike (2010-06-30). "Eyewitnesses Speak on Fighter's Death; Commission Launches Investigation". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  10. Thomas, Luke (2012-10-17). "Tyrone Mims, MMA Fighter, Dies Following Amateur Bout in South Carolina". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  11. Stupp, Dann (2012-08-15). "Following Tyrone Mims' death, Conflict MMA plans memorial event, trust fund for children". MMAJunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-19. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  12. Critchfield, Tristen (2012-08-12). "Report: Amateur Fighter Tyrone Mims Dies After MMA Bout in South Carolina". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  13. Ecklund, Sandra; Hauff, Chris (2012-08-12). "Friends of MMA fighter Tyrone Mims come together for family - WCIV-TV | ABC News 4 - Charleston News, Sports, Weather". ABC News 4. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
  14. Marrocco, Steven (2012-11-10). "Final autopsy results inconclusive on South Carolina MMA fighter following August death". MMAJunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
  15. Moran, Lee (2014) Pro MMA fighter Booto Guylain dies after getting elbowed in head during bout in South Africa, New York Daily News 2014-03-06, retrieved 2014-04-09
  16. Ewing, Creig (13 September 2017). "Local MMA: A cage fight, a death… and regrets". LEOWeekly.com. Louisville Eccentric Observer . Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  17. "Amateur MMA fighter Donshay White passes away following bout at Hardrock MMA 90". BGMMA. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  18. Ungar, Laura; Sayers, Justin (30 July 2018). "MMA fighter talked of chest pains before death but still passed medical checks". Courier-Journal.com. The Courier-Journal . Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  19. Corsey, Gil. "No drugs and no foul play involved in MMA fighter death in Louisville" . Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  20. Jenness, Kirik. "Massachusetts fighter dies following weekend bout". Mma Underground. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  21. Andersen, Travis (16 August 2017). "MMA promoter says fighter was not killed by blows". Boston Globe . Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  22. "The Rondel Clark Foundation Ending Extreme Weight Cutting Through Education and Regulation". RondelClarkFoundation.org. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  23. Cole, Ross (18 December 2017). "Eight MMA Fighters Who Passed Away In 2017". LowKickmma.com. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  24. Raimondi, Marc (16 August 2018). "Family of late MMA fighter Rondel Clark starts foundation to raise awareness about extreme weight cutting". MMAFighting.com. MMA Fighting . Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  25. Murugappan, Kadhiresan R.; Cocchi, Michael N.; Bose, Somnath; Neves, Sara E.; Cook, Charles H.; Sarge, Todd; Shaefi, Shahzad; Leibowitz, Akiva (January 2019). "Case Study: Fatal Exertional Rhabdomyolysis Possibly Related to Drastic Weight Cutting". International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 29 (1): 68–71. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0087. PMID   29893586. S2CID   48357646 . Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  26. Raimondi, Marc (28 August 2018). "ABC donates $5K to foundation started by family of fighter who died after extreme weight cut". MMA Fighting . Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  27. 1 2 Cruz, Guilherme (1 April 2019). "Amateur fighter Mateus Fernandes dies after TKO loss in Brazil". MMAFighting.com. MMA Fighting . Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  28. Baptista, Joao (1 April 2019). "Amateur Fighter Mateus Fernandes Dies After Technical Knockout Loss in Brazil". Sherdog.com. Sherdog . Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  29. Dawson, Alan. "A bare knuckle fighter died aged 38 after suffering a 19-second knockout loss in a recent bout". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  30. Svinth, Joseph R (July 2000). "Death under the Spotlight: The Manuel Velasquez Boxing Fatality Collection The Data: MMA". Journal of Combative Sport. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  31. Knapp, Brian (2008-11-30). "This Day in MMA History: Nov. 30". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  32. Hall, Joe; Utterstrom, Brad (2007-12-07). "The Death of Douglas Dedge". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  33. Gutierrez, Guillermo F (2012-04-25). "Tragedia en la AMM: Mike Mitelmeier está en coma y su cuadro se complica" [Tragedy in MMA: Mike Mitelmeier is in a coma and his picture is complicated] (in Spanish). Opinion.com.bo. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  34. Gutierrez, Guillermo F (2012-04-29). "Una multitud despidió con lágrimas a Mike Mitelmeier" [A crowd tearfully said goodbye to Mike Mitelmeier] (in Spanish). Opinion.com.bo. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  35. Lengerich, Ryan (2012-07-12). "Fighter died from blunt force trauma, autopsy reveals". RapidCityJournal.com. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  36. "Police release autopsy results for Sturgis fighter". KOTAV.com. 2012-07-11. Archived from the original on 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  37. Marrocco, Steven (2012-07-16). "Autopsy reveals fighter Dustin Jenson suffered head trauma prior to death". MMAJunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  38. 1 2 3 Yuen, Jenny (11 April 2013), "CPR performed on dead Hamilton MMA fighter for 40 minutes", Calgary Sun, Calgary
  39. Ferraro, Joe (8 April 2013). "Ontario man dies after amateur MMA debut". SportsNet.ca. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  40. Radley, Scott (10 April 2013). "MMA: Felix Pablo Elochukwu of Hamilton dies in Michigan bout". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  41. Durkin, Alanna (27 March 2013). "Michigan, Others May Regulate Amateur MMA Fights". Associated Press . Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  42. Livengood, Chad (11 April 2013). "State House OKs bills regulating amateur mixed martial arts fighters, promoters". Detroit News . Retrieved 16 April 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  43. Wilcox, Nate (11 April 2013). "UFC, Michigan legislature respond to Felix Pablo Elochukwu's death in unregulated amateur MMA bout". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  44. Zidan, Karim (29 March 2015). "Report: Fighter dies in the cage during Azerbaijan MMA tournament". BloodyElbow.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  45. Schild, Jake (30 April 2015). "Medical examiner's office attributes MMA fighter's death to kidney failure". Seattletimes.com. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  46. Alexander, Mookie (28 April 2015). "Amateur MMA fighter collapses, dies of kidney failure following bout in Washington State". BloodyElbow.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  47. Bradley, Jonathan (13 April 2016). "MMA fighter Joao Carvalho dies two days after TKO loss to Charlie Ward, Conor McGregor tribute". news.com.au. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  48. Carroll, Peter (15 April 2016). "Irish MMA's Road to Regulation". fightland.vice.com. Retrieved 19 April 2016.