Serious questions about the safety and planning of a charity MMA event in Alberta, Canada are being raised following the death of amateur fighter Trokon Dousuah.
Dousuah, 33, was seen being carried from the cage following his fight at an Ultra MMA event this past Saturday. The card was held on Cree First Nation territory in Enoch, just outside of Edmonton, which saw a visit by the UFC earlier this month.
Alberta, unlike most provinces and U.S. states, leaves oversight of combat sports to municipalities, such as the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission.
The Ultra MMA event is under fire for a number of reasons, including utilizing same-day weigh-ins, and seemingly ushering amateur fighters into the cage by offering an eight-week training course, followed by a guaranteed opponent. Other regulations, including the use of shin guards in amateur fights, were not followed at the event. Dousuah was also cleared to fight despite suffering from Asthma.
The potential for a conflict of interest was also high, given the company was acting both as coaches/trainers, and promoter.
The show was halted following Dousuah’s removal from the venue, in part because no additional medical staff was on hand. Ultra MMA reportedly plans to rebook the remaining fights for March.
Veteran investigative combat sports journalist Mike Russell, appearing on the Jason Gregor Show, noted that Ultra MMA has also run boxing events, and saw three deaths transpire under its banner in the U.K.
The Penhold Combative Sports Commission, a traveling commission, oversaw Saturday’s charity event in Enoch.
Ultra MMA’s website continues to include a blurb that reads “MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world. Experience it in a safe and enjoyable environment with 8 weeks of FREE training, that will lead up to your big night fighting in a cage in front of a huge crowd at one of our glamorous events.”
They also claim that their business has been “endorsed by Tom Aspinall,” though what if any involvement the UFC interim heavyweight champ has with Ultra MMA is unclear. Aspinall does follow Ultra MMA’s Twitter (which has not been updated since last year), as do other U.K. fighters.
As many fighters will tell you, you don’t “play” fighting, and eight weeks of training is simply not enough to take a fight, either amateur or pro. Dousuah actually won his fight, but appeared to be winded later in the bout.
A training partner of the deceased fighter, Natalija Rajkovic, told the Edmonton Journal that Douasuah died due to a ruptured kidney. She also told the outlet that she saw red flags when viewing video her boyfriend had shot of Dousuah’s fight. “In the video, you can see his body looks normal but towards the end of the fight you could see his stomach was inflated, you could tell something was seriously wrong,” she stated.
The tragedy comes on the heels of an investigation into the death of Tim Hague, a former UFC star, who died of a brain hemorrhage following a boxing match in 2017. The RCMP are investigating the death of Dousuah; that is standard procedure in all deaths that happen outside of a doctor’s care.
CBC News additionally reported that Alberta Tourism and Sport Minister Joseph Schow told reporters that the provincial government is looking into the incident as well.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support Trokon Dousuah’s wife, pregnant with their third child, and children.
