By: Jack Wannan & John Pollock
An MMA event that was meant to raise money for charity and teach would-be fighters how to compete recently went south in Alberta, Canada, with reports to recent authorities alleging that it resulted in a death.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed with POST Wrestling on Tuesday that they received a call at 5 a.m. on Monday regarding a fighter reportedly passing away after competing at a combat sporting event. They were unable to release the age or name of the fighter as of Tuesday afternoon.
The report came following an event hosted by Ultra MMA on Enoch Cree First Nation land last weekend, which was brought to an end after a fighter suffered a serious medical incident, as confirmed by an eyewitness who spoke to POST Wrestling.
The suspected fighter, a 33-year-old whom POST Wrestling has decided to withhold from naming for the time being, won his bout via split decision but struggled greatly with his cardio and needed help exiting the cage afterward, as seen in a video posted by Natalija Rajković on Facebook, who was scheduled to fight later that night.
On Saturday night, Rajković posted the following on Facebook on her first-hand experience at the event:
Biggest disappointment and poorly run event
Only made it through 3 matches(took an hour) after waiting for 2 hours because the medic was late. before the event was stopped for medical emergency. Tell me why there is one doctor when there HAS to be two. Last two fights were not legal. The fight should have been stopped the moment the fighter in question started to stop defending himself. And no one knows if the fighter is okay or not. I read that 3 people have died in an Ultra mma fight. We essentially prepared for a backyard scrap, it wasn’t sanctioned like we were told. We were all lied to.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) told Global News that they had transported a man from the event in a “stable, non-life threatening condition” but were unable to confirm any further details.
An eyewitness said the fighter, who weighed in at 202 pounds and was nine pounds heavier than his opponent, was set to compete in a three-round amateur bout with each frame lasting 90 seconds. Weigh-ins for the event occurred earlier that day.
The event was paused at one point due to the ringside physician having to assist the fighter after his bout, per the eyewitness. Roughly an hour later, the show was canceled altogether, ending after just two bouts had been completed. In a bout card that was shared with POST Wrestling, there were eighteen fights scheduled.
“After the incident, we realized he wasn’t fit to fight, his heart wouldn’t take it,” Charles Proulx, a fighter who was supposed to compete later that evening, told Global News. “We could see during the fight also, that he was gassing out really quick. For a guy that jacked and everything, it was really odd.”
Ultra MMA provides fighters with an eight-week training camp in the lead-up to what is for most their first-ever fight, per the company’s official website. Fighters who appear as part of the show raise money for charity ahead of their appearance.
Their guidelines include fighters requiring a medical check before and after their fight, must be 18 years of age or older, must be contested under three rounds of 90 seconds, and can win by stoppage, submission, or decision.
The fights allow punches, kicks, and knees to the body and legs, punches to the head while the opponent is standing, choke holds, arm and shoulder locks, and slams are permitted.
They do not allow strikes to the head while the opponent is grounded, no elbow strikes, foot locks, spine locks, neck cracks, or kicks to the head.
Ultra MMA did not get back to a request for comment from POST Wrestling on Tuesday.
The recent news comes just weeks after another combat sports news story from Alberta came to a close.
Earlier this month, an inquiry following the 2017 death of fighter Tim Hague concluded, providing calls for better sanctioning of combat sports within the province. Hague, a former UFC fighter, suffered a brain bleed following a boxing match in Alberta and was unable to recover afterward.