The tragic news was confirmed by multiple media outlets on Sunday. The Canadian, who fought as recently as last December, had been battling stage 4 liver cancer — a diagnosis he did not share outside of a select few.

Sadly, a representative of Elias Theodorou has confirmed earlier reports that he has passed away at age 34.

Theodorou was privately battling Stage 4 liver cancer and had only told a select group of people of his diagnosis.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 12, 2022

In recent years, Theodorou had led the charge for therapeutic use exemptions for medical marijuana, having gone on record regarding his use of the substance to treat chronic pain.

Born in Mississauga, Ontario, Theodorou embarked on his professional fighting career in 2011, compiling an 8-0 record before appearing on TUF: Nations in 2014. He won the show at middleweight, and put together an 8-3 run in the UFC before being unceremoniously released off a single loss to Derek Brunson in 2019.

Returning to the regional scene, the “Mane Event” — so named for his striking good looks/flowing locks — won his next three fights, with the last coming in December 2021, when he secured a unanimous decision victory over Bryan Baker. In his two fights prior, he finished both of his opponents, a sharp rebuke to criticism that he too often went the distance during his UFC tenure.

During a 2018 appearance in Moncton, New Brunswick, Theodorou spoke to Cageside Press about how he got his start in mixed martial arts.

“I love traveling, I love training. The fighter’s journey is what drew me to mixed martial arts,” Theodorou recalled. “I was a fan first, and then just jumped into a gym, and never left. The last fight before this was in UFC Liverpool, the one before that, UFC Sydney. I really love training and travelling.”

Theodorou broke new ground as a “ring boy” for all-female fighting outfit Invicta FC, and hosted his own “Mane Event” podcast. In 2015, he appeared on the third season of The Amazing Race Canada.

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In his first fight since being dismissed by the UFC while still a ranked middleweight, Canada’s Elias Theodorou has stepped back into the winner’s circle. Theodorou, a Mississauga, Ontario native who won The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia in 2014, returned to the cage at Prospect FC 12 on Friday night in Windsor, Ontario.

The ‘Mane Event’ was paired up with a fellow UFC alum, Hernani Perpetuo, who went 0-2 in the octagon in 2014, and who has also competed for ONE Championship.

And while Theodorou was criticized for his lack of finishes under the UFC banner, he at least rectified that on Friday, stopping Brazil’s Perpetuo via TKO in the third round.

Elias Theodorou (@EliasTheodorou) captures the victory at PFC 12 via TKO (punches) at the 1:51 mark of Round 3. 😤 #PFC12 #GP pic.twitter.com/iKESpl06Pp

— The Combat Hour (@HourCombat) December 7, 2019

With the win, Theodorou improves to 17-3, and is now 4-1 in his past five fights. The Canadian was released by the UFC off a single loss to Derek Brunson earlier this year at UFC Ottawa, a move that raised numerous eyebrows. Most pointed the finger at Theodorou’s style, and the UFC’s insistence that athletes put on “exciting” fights regardless of outcome.

It’s a situation that seems to have repeated itself with this week’s release of multi-time title challenger Liz Carmouche, who was cut from the company despite being 2-1 in her last three fights, and coming off a title-fight loss to Valentina Shevchenko.

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Former UFC middleweight contender Elias Theodorou (16-3) has announced his return to the cage. After being cut by the UFC off a single loss earlier this year, the ‘Mane Event’ will be back in action under the Prospect Fighting Championships banner. A regional promotion in Theodorou’s home province of Ontario, he’ll be paired up on the PFC 12 card with an opponent to be named later.

A PFC official confirmed the bout to Cageside Press, noting that Theodorou’s opponent was still to be firmed up.

One of the more popular Canadian’s on the UFC’s roster, Theodorou’s release earlier this year came as a shock to many. While UFC President Dana White made noise about the cut coming as a result of Theordorou not being top five material, the real reason is likely a little more harsh: Theodorou is a talented fighter with a large following, but one whose conservative style didn’t translate to fireworks in the octagon. And with the UFC rather flighty with the “is it spectacle or sport” question, a single loss coming off a three-fight win streak was all it took.

Overall, Theodorou, who also serves as a ring card boy for Invicta FC, was 8-3 in the UFC, and won The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia in 2014.

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In a rather shocking decision, the UFC has cut former top fifteen middleweight Elias Theodorou. The news was first reported by Brazil’s Combate and Canada’s TSN. The move comes after Theodorou (16–3) lost to Derek Brunson in the co-main event of UFC Ottawa earlier this month. While not the most popular fight with fans, ‘The Mane Event,’ who had a sponsorship with Pert Plus and has dabbled in modeling, podcasting and acting, was on a 3-1 stretch, and 8-3 in the UFC overall.

The UFC has not officially confirmed Theodorou’s release.

There’s little question that Theodorou’s fighting style cost him in this case. But it’s doubly surprising given that UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content, David Shaw, told Cageside Press that the UFC needed local stars to grow the sport from region to region, despite the Canadian fan base being one of the most rabid in MMA.

Theodorou was, without question, one of the highest profile Canadians on the UFC roster in the wake of Georges St. Pierre’s retirement, and Rory MacDonald’s defection to Bellator. Speaking of which, Scott Coker’s promotion would be wise to jump on the middleweight, who would add instant value to their 185lb roster, currently reigned over by Gegard Mousasi.

Theodorou entered the UFC by winning The Ultimate Fighter: Nations tournament, which pitted Canada against Australia. In an all-Canadian final, he defeated fellow Canuck Sheldon Westcott, starting one of two three-fight winning streaks in his UFC tenure. Notable names defeated by Theodorou include Eryk Anders, former LFA champion, Smilin’ Sam Alvey, and Dan Kelly.

Theodorou is also known as Invicta FC’s “ring boy,” and had campaigned for THC reform by USADA, who continue to cling to outdated rules governing marijuana.

Also reportedly released by the UFC are Wilson Reis, former flyweight title challenger, Eric Shelton, and heavyweight Marcelo Golm. Bryan Caraway was also recently revealed as being gone from the UFC.

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The UFC has made its triumphant return to Canada with this past weekend’s card at UFC Ottawa. The card boasted some of Canada’s finest young talent as well as some staple fighters. So what’s next for some of the fighters? Let’s have a look!

Cub Swanson’s Efforts Close But No Cigar Against Shane Burgos

Shane Burgos has been a hot prospect in the featherweight division for some time. Going 4-1 in the UFC before the Swanson fight, it was time to test himself. Burgos showed up big time in this fight, taking on a big time veteran and a top 10 fighter in Cub Swanson. The fight went to a split decision, and Burgos showed that even under pressure he can perform.

Cub Swanson is on the longest skid of his career. Dropping four straight, not all is lost for the Fight of the Night machine. The fights he’s lost were to Brian Ortega, Frankie Edgar, Renato Moicano, and now Burgos. This company bodes well for Burgos. As for Swanson, he needs a rebound ASAP to get some momentum going before Father Time catches up to him.

Next Opponent for Shane Burgos: Josh Emmett, Jeremy Stephens

Next Opponent for Cub Swanson: Darren Elkins, Andre Fili

Derek Brunson Gets the Job Done

Derek Brunson came into this fight on a two-fight skid to two of the best middleweights in the world. He showed great improvement in his striking displaying more patience and a more calculating approach. Brunson, for the most part, neutralized Elias Theodorou’s unorthodox striking, aside from not being able to wrestle like he wanted past the first round.

While he was in his backyard, Elias was not the crowd favorite at UFC Ottawa. While his style is unorthodox, it’s either exciting or it’s not. This night, it wasn’t. Elias struggled to land anything of significance on Brunson and was on the wrong side of the crowd’s cheers.

Next Opponent for Derek Brunson: Chris Weidman, Brad Tavares

Next Opponent for Elias Theorodoru: Krzysztof Jotko

Cowboy Wrangles Al Iaquinta

Donald Cerrone has a lot of records in the UFC. I won’t name them because we would run out of time. He added on to those records this weekend. His win over fourth-ranked Al Iaquinta was a master class. Iaquinta has phenomenal hands and he showed that on the fight, but, Cerrone’s size and striking was just too much. Cowboy chopped away at the leg and battered Iaquinta’s face for five rounds getting the two the Fight of the Night award.

Iaquinta showed just how tough he is at UFC Ottawa. He took knees, teeps to the face that would put down any other mortal. Luckily his stock will not fall from the loss to the bigger Cowboy Cerrone. He’s sure to rebound with a great fight.

Next Opponent for Donald Cerrone: Conor McGregor, Tony Ferguson

Next Opponent for Al Iaquinta: Edson Barboza, Paul Felder

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Elias Theodorou was undefeated at 8-0 heading into TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia in 2014. The Canadian won both of his fights on the show and his first three fights in the UFC. Current light heavyweight title contender Thiago Santos handed Theodorou his first career loss in 2015, but he’s bounced back with five wins in his next six fights. The Invicta FC Ring Boy is on a three-fight win streak, most recently defeating Eryk Anders.

Derek Brunson has been in the UFC since 2012, winning seven of his first eight fights with the only loss coming to top middleweight Yoel Romero. After knocking out the last four fighters of that streak, Brunson faced then-contender Robert Whittaker, losing by first-round knockout. After a controversial decision loss to Anderson Silva in his next appearance, Brunson knocked out both Lyoto Machida and Dan Kelly. Since then, he’s fallen to Jacare Souza and Israel Adesanya by knockout.

Derek Brunson wasted zero time, getting a trip takedown on the Canadian early. Brunson then got his back, and nearly got the rear-naked-choke, however, Elias escaped and got back to his feet, where the rest of the first round was contested. Elias would attempt to use leg kicks to keep Brunson off of him. Brunson still was pushing the pressure and had bigger moments through the first five minutes.

After a pretty entertaining first round, we had a not as fun second round. Elias still attempted to use his unorthodox movement and leg kicks to rack up points and strikes. Brunson, on the other hand, struggled with his movement and didn’t get off many strikes, outside of going to the body kick a couple of times. Overall, neither fighter pushed the pressure in the second round.

The third round featured Derek Brunson’s best WWE impression, picking up Elias early and slamming him down after walking around the Octagon. However, Elias would find his way back to his feet not much longer, and would continue his strategy of the previous two rounds. Both fighters were visibly gassed in the third, and as a result, didn’t land many shots. In the end, we went to a decision.

Derek Brunson def. Elias Theodorou by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x2, 30-27) 

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Friday morning in the chilly, rainy capital city of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada, all fighters from this Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 9 hit the scales. All things considered, the weigh-in for UFC Ottawa went off without a hitch. Kyle Nelson, making his sophomore UFC appearance, weighed in with a towel, but hit the featherweight limit on his first try.

Macy Chiasson, the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 28 at featherweight, did not hit the limit for her current home at banatmweight on her first attempt. However, after an extra hour was allotted, after a couple of tries, Chiasson weighed in at 136lbs even.

With that in mind, all fights are a go for the Ottawa card this weekend, which will be held at the Canadian Tire Centre, and air live on ESPN+ in the U.S., and TSN 4/5 in Canada. Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone throws down with ‘Raging’ Al Iaquinta in what promises to be a thrilling main event.

Catch the full UFC Ottawa face-off video above! For full results from this morning’s weigh-in, head on over to our UFC Ottawa weigh-in page.

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MMA fans have a short memory when it comes to athletes. The quantity of violence consumed is so high that fans only remember people who do things out of the ordinary. Hence, regular and consistent performances aren’t as rewarded as a one-time highlight finish or a good trash-talk build-up. This has resulted in the creation of two sets of fighters. The first is of fighters with knockout ability and charisma who climb the ladder in the MMA world quickly. The second set consists of athletes who lack the ability to deliver on these two ends and have to slog their way up. This requires amassing a winning streak and producing consistent performances over a period of time. Elias Theodorou has evolved as a personality who’s difficult to typecast into any of these two.

Theodorou is no highlight finisher. He doesn’t put up fights that people can identify him with nor does he produce insane viral highlight videos. However, at the same time, he isn’t boring. He has his own dedicated fan following on Twtter who tune into his fights. This has resulted in him being visible but not beyond his own spectrum. Surprisingly, it isn’t as if he hasn’t had opportunities to grow, ventures like The Amazing Race Canada should have done something for him but they simply didn’t work.

Entering UFC Ottawa, “The Spartan” will find his place in the division. At the present moment, he’s neither among the elite, nor a stepping stone and nor is he a prospect. He is just floating around in the ever-volatile division. This weekend, Theodorou will get a defined shape. He is currently on a three-fight win streak which includes wins over the likes of former Olympian Dan Kelly. This has resulted in him getting substantial attention from both fans and media alike, making his this fight against Derek Brunson an important one for him and his foreseeable future.

Derek Brunson is a knockout artist and usually acts as a stepping stone to enter the elite rankings. With a record of 18-7, Brunson has faced the likes of Ronaldo Souza, Israel Adesanya, Anderson Silva, and Robert Whittaker. He has become a known name in the MMA world and a win over him tends to launch fighters in the deeper ends of the pool. However, a loss to him at the very same time can knock one to the shallow ends for a long time. This is what makes a Brunson fight special. Theodorou will find his space in the division regardless of the outcome of the fight. If he wins, he breaks through into the list of contenders. However, if he loses, he goes down hard. The outcome of this match will determine what course he will take.

Securing a win against someone like Brunson is no easy job. Brunson is a finisher and of his 18 wins, he has won 14 by finishing his opponents. He’s explosive and loves engaging in firefights. Theodorou, on the other hand, has a good striking game and fair wrestling. He doesn’t engage that much in fights and likes to fight safe. He can absorb bombs which were seen in his last fight against Eryk Anders. “The Spartan” has good cardio. This is where he gets a clear advantage over Brunson, who has shown trouble in maintaining pace in the past.

The fight overall sounds fun. Who will win is something we’ll come to know this weekend.

UFC Ottawa will be live on ESPN+ in the USA, TSN 5 in Canada on May 4, and Sony Ten 2 in India on May 5.

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UFC Ottawa (UFC Fight Night 151 / UFC on ESPN+ 9) takes place Saturday at the Canadian Tire Center in Canada’s capital city of Ottawa, ON. The event is topped by a promising, and important, lightweight clash between Al Iaquinta and Cowboy Cerrone. In the co-main event, Canada’s own Elias Theodorou looks to push toward the top ten as he takes on Derek Brunson. And also on the main card, Cub Swanson was set to take on up-and-comer Shane Burgos.

There was no ceremonial weigh-in schedule for Ottawa, but Cageside Press will be on the scene and has you covered with live updates all morning! Weigh-ins kick off at 9AM ET.

Through the first half hour, all fighters had made weight. Most importantly, the main event was a go, with Al Iaquinta and Cowboy Cerrone successfully weighing in early in the two hour window. Macy Chiasson was the only straggler in the end, needing most of the extra hour to make 136lbs.

UFC Ottawa Weigh-In Results:

Main Card

Lightweight: Al Iaquinta (155) vs. Donald Cerrone (155.5)
Middleweight: Derek Brunson (185.75) vs. Elias Theodorou (184.5)
Featherweight: Cub Swanson (145.75) vs. Shane Burgos (146)
Bantamweight: Brad Katona (135.5) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (136)
Heavyweight: Walt Harris (258) vs. Sergey Spivak (254.5)
Middleweight: Marc-André Barriault (185) vs. Andrew Sanchez (184.5)

Preliminary Card

Women’s Bantamweight: Macy Chiasson (137)* vs. Sarah Moras (136)
Bantamweight: Aiemann Zahabi (135) vs. Vince Morales (136)
Welterweight: Nordine Taleb (170.5)  vs. Kyle Prepolec (170.25)
Featherweight: Kyle Nelson (146) vs. Matt Sayles (145.75)
Heavyweight: Arjan Bhullar (244) vs. Juan Adams (266)
Bantamweight: Mitch Gagnon (136) vs. Cole Smith (136)

*Chiasson missed weight

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Ottawa, ON — For Elias Theodorou, UFC Ottawa represents a first. It’s his first co-main event slot in the UFC. Another feather in the cap of The Ultimate Fighter: Nations winner, who has gone 8-2 through his first ten fights in the UFC. A chance to break into the top ten, with a win over opponent Derek Brunson.

It also represents the start of his second chapter. It may seem odd that a fighter young in the sport, though 30, is talking about a second chapter. Yet a UFC profile on Theodorou earlier this week called UFC Ottawa the unofficial start of just that. And looking a bit closer, the label makes sense.

“There’s a couple of things, and milestones,” Theodorou pointed out when it comes to the reason for turning the page. “This is my fifth year in the UFC. I just celebrated that April 16, when I won The Ultimate Fighter.” How time flies. Theodorou defeated Sheldon Westcott in the all-Canadian finale of the show, which pitted Canadian fighters against Australians. “And I think it’s in June-ish, I’ll be celebrating my tenth year in martial arts,” he continued. “It’s a milestone in a sense of, a kid, I don’t want to say a kid, a man-child at 21 that stepped into a gym and had the audacity to go from fan to top ten.”

The top ten ranking isn’t there quite yet. The number next to Theodorou’s name currently sits at 13. Brunson is ranked 9th in the middleweight division. On paper, however, this is certainly the fight to propel ‘The Mane Event’ into the top ten, with a strong showing.

Yet if we’re talking second chapters, it’s worth noting that Theodorou is now thirty. He got his start in martial arts late, but there’s no denying the fact that athletic primes tend to end in the early thirties.

Still, Theodorou sees a few things working in his favor. “The larger someone is, usually the longer of a career that they have. Speed goes first, not power,” he observed. “You can obviously look at the example of someone like George Foreman at 40, winning the title. Then statistically speaking, in regards to heavyweights. The median age in my weight class is 35. The guy that I’m fighting is five years older than me. I’m still the younger guy in the middleweight division.”

“Obviously there’s pros and cons in regards to starting so late,” he admitted. But it’s the positives that he chooses to focus on. “I don’t have any of the wear and tear, some of the damage, in regards to injuries. And I started as a blank canvas. Derek Brunson, he resorts back to that wild [style], he resorts back to that wrestling in desperation. Where I try to be as cerebral as possible, and find ways to win. I think my record speaks for myself.”

“At the end of this week, I’ll be 18-2,” he finished.

Elias Theodorou takes on Derek Brunson in the co-main event of UFC Ottawa this Saturday, May 4 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON. The card airs live on ESPN+/TSN.

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