A charity MMA event in Alberta, Canada last weekend which was expected to give numerous fighters-in-training their first-ever taste of competition inside the cage tragically resulted in a death.
33-year-old Trokon Dousuah, an amateur talent who competed as part of an Ultra MMA event last weekend at a community centre in the Enoch First Nation, passed away following his three-round split decision result over the weekend. The incident is currently under investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Knockdown News was able to confirm Tuesday.
Dousuah, while successful in his three-round amateur bout last weekend, struggled significantly with his cardio and had to be assisted as he left the cage, footage of the fight showed.
“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.”
An eyewitness who spoke to POST Wrestling on the condition of anonymity described that the third bout of the night – immediately following Dousuah’s matchup – was paused so that the ringside physician could go backstage to further help the struggling fighter. After an impromptu intermission went roughly an hour, the call was made for the show to be cancelled altogether.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) told Global News that they transported a man in a “stable, non-life threatening condition.”
The official cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
Ultra Events Canada, the promoter for the show, released a statement on Tuesday evening after news of the fighter’s passing surfaced.
“Everyone at Ultra Events Canada was devastated to hear about our participant’s tragic death and our deepest sympathies go out to his family,” the company stated. “Ultra Events Canada will, of course, offer his family and friends any support we can at this very sad time. The event at the Enoch Community Centre was carried out under the auspices of the Central Combat Sports Commission. With investigations now underway into the cause of our participant’s death it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
The event provided those involved with a first-time chance to compete in MMA, fighting under amateur rules after completing an eight-week boot camp. Fights were scheduled for three rounds which lasted 90 seconds each.
An eyewitness source told POST Wrestling that weigh-ins for the event took place the day of the card.
Natalija Rajkovic, a competitor who was slated to appear later that evening, has since called into question the safety of the event. She recently commented on whether the training program gave sufficient time for athletes to prepare, or if everyone involved was aware of the risks which came with it.
“Honestly, I don’t believe any of us were ready. Training one or two hours a week for eight weeks isn’t enough,” she told the Edmonton Journal. “I fully knew the risks going into this. I knew I could get knocked out or seriously injured, but I don’t know if everyone who was supposed to fight on this card truly knows the seriousness of MMA.”
The recent incident comes just weeks after the end of an inquiry into the 2017 death of former UFC fighter Tim Hague, who suffered a fatal brain bleed after competing in a boxing match within the Canadian province. The inquiry provided calls for better sanctioning of combat sports to safeguard fighters.
Dousuah survived by his wife and two children, 3 and 12 years old. Rajkovic described him as a “family man who was full of energy and always smiling,” per CBC.
A GoFundMe has been launched to raise funeral funds and help support Dousuah’s family. It has raised $5,000 CAD since Thursday morning.
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