Martial Arts Blog

Fatalities in Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is looked at as an aggressive sport by many mainly due to its relation with blood, gore and fatalities. Over the years a total of eight (reported) people have lost their lives due to the sport, out of which 3 were in sanctioned fights. Such incidents bring bad publicity to the sport, which is why experts are always looking to make sure that precautionary measures are taken.
The three deaths in sanctioned fights include:

Sam Vasquez

Sam Vasquez, aged 35, opposed Vince Libardi on October 20^th, 2007 in a Renegades Extreme Fighting match in Houston, Texas. He lost the fight by way of knockout in the third round after which he went unconscious and had to be taken to St. Joseph Medical Center's Critical Care Unit.
In order to allow his brain to swell, a section of his skull bone was removed due to it being identified as a case of a subdural hemorrhage. Several procedures were used including the placement of a tube to drain out cerebral spinal fluid to make room for swelling and monitor the brain pressure. He had a total of two surgeries to remove blood clots from the brain, but they could be of no help and he fell into a 2 day coma and was announced dead on November 30^th.
His death was due to impediments of blunt trauma of the head with a subdural hemorrhage.

Michael Kirkham

Michael Kirkham died at the young age of 30 in a match against Carlos Iraburo at King MMA/Dash Entertainment “Confrontation at the Convocation Center” in South Carolina. The match held on June 26^th, 2010 saw his opponent land a few strikes to the head after having him grounded in the first round. This resulted in a referee stoppage at forty-one seconds mark.
Kirkham got knocked out and never regained consciousness. He was announced dead two days after the event. Subarachnoid hemorrhage was listed as the cause of demise as per the autopsy.

Tyrone Mimms

Third and the most recent fatality in MMA was of the 30-year-old fighter Tyrone Mims. Also known as Teestea, he was competing in an amateur MMA show at Conflict MMA Fight Night at the Point IV on August 11^th, 2012 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
The bout ended due to referee stoppage in the second round as Tyrone became too weak to continue. After the match he responded that he was ‘fine’ and was helped to the back. However, he lost consciousness and was transported to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) hospital after EMTS failed to bring him back to life at the scene.
He was pronounced dead at 9:27 p.m. The autopsy failed to reach a cause of death as no evidence of brain trauma was detected. Plus, there was no presence of alcohol or drugs either. It has been speculated that he might have had an uneven heartbeat due to some electrical dysfunction. Nonetheless, his death remains a mystery till date with no solid proof.