Novice Fighter Dies During MMA Event in Alberta, Canada

It’s hard to watch a fighter get knocked out in the cage sometimes and wonder if the damage may be beyond the normal. Holding your breath for a beat may be necessary to ensure the person gets up. But MMAfighting latest news shows that deaths from mixed martial arts fights are rare.
Entering 2023, there were 23 known deaths in sanctioned MMA fights, none of which occurred in the UFC, which is regarded as the most highly-regarded promotion in the world. But there was a recent death at an amateur event in Canada that shocked many observers.
Trokon Dousuah was a personal trainer from Edmonton who chose to compete at a charity MMA show. Part of the appeal was allowing untrained people to test themselves in the sport. Dousuah won a three-round decision but would end up losing his life.
What happened in Alberta will be under a microscope over the next month as a cause of death is determined.
What Happened is Still Unclear

The aftermath of a tragedy like this typically involves a lot of finger-pointing. One of the major criticisms of the fight was having weigh-ins on the day of the fight. The fight card, which was held by Ultra MMA, featured more than 30 fighters.
Having fighters weigh in on the same day doesn’t allow for proper hydration, which isn’t good for the body’s recovery from a weight cut. While Dousuah won his fight, he was unsteady on his feet and was helped into the back of the arena.
After a 40-minute wait, Dousuah was taken to the hospital. He would end up dying at the hospital. The circumstances surrounding his death are being investigated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
There was a considerable amount of criticism lobbed at Ultra MMA, which rented out the arena from Enoch Nation, but provided its own staff for the event.
What is Ultra MMA?

Ultra MMA is an event management company based out of Derby, England. Taking a look at the company’s website shows that this is a different type of organization. While MMA breaking news shows that the company has an endorsement from UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, it is a different type of idea entirely.
The company offers to host events where participants can have a free eight weeks of fighting before fighting for a charity event. Ultra MMA’s website claims the events have raised £37,535,888 for charities. The company’s mission statement reads more like a fitness company than one that is serious about fights.
The Ultra MMA mission page on its website highlights several components of its belief system:
Bettering physical and mental health
Behaving morally and ethically
Life-changing experiences
Fundraising for charity
Have MMA Fighters Died Because of Fights Before?
Yes, but not in the UFC. Professional fights, whether they are in boxing, MMA, slap fighting, or otherwise, have a lot of scrutiny behind them. In the United States, state athletic commissions are allowed to create their own rules for trying to look out for the well-being of fighters.
It is unclear how a charity event would be treated. When it comes to these types of events, it is usually assumed the participants are attempting to hurt each other like professionals would. However, having untrained participants competing in any type of sporting event likely isn’t a great idea.
Athletes train for several months before taking on a tough opponent in the cage. Going from no experience to eight weeks of training capped with fighting in the cage seems like too short of a lead time.
Ray Mancini Should Be the Cautionary Tale
While online boxing news shows that the boxing world has a much darker history of deaths, there is one that stands out above all others. The impact of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini’s fight with Duk-koo Kim. During the 14th round, Mancini hit Kim with a hard punch that stopped the fight 19 seconds into the round in November 1982.
But the damage from Mancini’s punches was felt long after the fight. Kim slipped into a coma soon after the fight ended. He was taken to a hospital after the fight, and they had to perform emergency brain surgery. He died five days later.
Kim’s death led to a number of changes to the physical tests that had to be run by doctors before someone was allowed to fight. Mancini was never the same fighter after the bout, as Kim’s death haunted him.
Kim’s mother committed suicide three months after the fight. Referee Richard Green, who was criticized for not stopping the fight earlier, would kill himself in July 1983. Kim’s girlfriend was pregnant with his son.
The End of a Fitness Program Shouldn’t Be a Fight
While it is admirable that anyone can come up with a program that can help people lose weight and stay active, Ultra MMA’s eight-week boot camp before allowing people to fight for charity is likely a bad idea. There are many people around the world with underlying health issues they may not be aware of.
Whether a fight is for charity or not, both participants still have to take punches. Those strikes have the ability to cause something like what happened in Canada. It is likely better to leave fighting to the professionals and hope that the weekend warrior athletes can find another way to train.
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
By Dean McHugh.