Fatal MMA fight has ties

A mixed martial arts organizer being questioned by police about an Alberta fighter's death is linked to a company earlier cited for safety concerns after a novice boxer died in the United Kingdom.

A senior coroner in Worcestershire, England, urges in a report that U.K.-based Ultra Events Ltd. improve its safety standards following the 2022 death of fighter Dominic Chapman. The company's website promotes MMA and boxing fights, comedy shows and adventure trips.

“Chapman sustained a fatal head injury in the course of a charity boxing match organized by Ultra Events Ltd.,” coroner David Reid says in the report.

“In my opinion, there is a concern that future deaths will occur unless action is taken.”

Reid’s report was dated June 6.

Almost six months later near Edmonton, on Nov. 25, amateur MMA fighter Trokon Dousuah died of injuries he sustained two days earlier in a charity fight. The match was organized by Ultra MMA, which Ultra Events Ltd. says in an email is one of its brands.

The fight took place at a community centre on Enoch Cree Nation.

Mounties said they are interviewing Ultra MMA organizers and witnesses to determine the circumstances of Dousuah’s death.

Mounties have not said how the 33-year-old died, but video of the fight shows him being helped from the ring in distress.

RCMP said Monday that the investigation continues. A fatality inquiry has not been scheduled.

The fight was sanctioned by the Central Combative Sports Commission, based in Penhold, Alta.

The chair of the commission and the First Nation didn't respond to emails requesting comment. A person who answered the phone at the community centre said it had no comment.

The Canadian Press reached out to Ultra MMA and received a response from Ultra Events Canada, which said in an email it was offering Dousuah's family and friends support.

“With investigations now underway into the cause of our participant’s death it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage," it said.

It did not provide comment on future fights.

Ultra MMA's website says training starts in January for two fights in March, one at Enoch and the other on the Tsuut'ina First Nation near Calgary.

Dousuah's cousin said it's absurd more fights are scheduled.

"They have to be stopped before this happens to someone else," Roshe Dousuah said in a phone interview from her home in New Jersey.

"Enough is enough."

She said her cousin's wife, who is pregnant with the couple's third child, was at the fight and watched him getting hit and gasping for air.

"She yelled, 'Stop the fight! Stop the fight!'" said Dousuah, adding she was told by the family that he suffered from internal bleeding in the match.

A memorial service is planned for January.

A spokesperson for Ultra Events Ltd. said in an email exchange that it's "not directly linked" to the company that organized Dousuah's fight.

"We would like to reiterate that the organization is not engaged in the running or organizing of events in Canada/North America," said Tony Meenaghan. "The organizations are different entities."

There is no website for Ultra Events Canada. Ultra MMA's website allowed a reporter with The Canadian Press to sign up for the upcoming fight in Enoch, and Ultra Events Ltd. in the U.K. responded in an email with registration instructions.

Ultra MMA's website says it trains novice fighters then gives them a shot in the limelight to raise money for a good cause.

"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," it says.

The U.K. coroner’s report says Ultra Events Midlands Ltd. organized the fatal boxing match at a nightclub in Worcester, northwest of London, on April 9, 2022, but that Ultra Events Ltd. was ultimately responsible.

"I believe you, as the director and sole proprietor of Ultra Events Ltd., have the power to take such action," Reid says in the report.

Chapman, 26, sustained a fatal head injury in one of the bouts and died two days later in hospital.

His death was "a result of an accident," the report says. However, the coroner said he had concerns with how fighters were trained and matched up.

There was confusion over maximum allowable weight differences between opponents and timelines for skill development, such as head shots, says the report.

It says there was “no effective oversight to ensure that the medical cover provided for each individual event at each venue is based on a suitable individualized risk assessment.”

Reid encouraged Ultra Events Ltd. to require coaches to sign a declaration that they would follow a training plan.

In a July response to the report, Ultra Events Ltd. promised: stricter record keeping of weight discrepancies between fighters; stricter rules on risk assessments; and event-specific medical plans.

The company also said some changes had already been made, including shorter rounds and more stringent standing eight counts.

Chapman's father said he empathizes with Dousuah’s family.

"I send my condolences to the family of that young man, a father of three. I'm a father of three, you know. It must be a desperate situation for them," said John Chapman.

He said his son had not participated in a fight before and was having relationship issues before signing up.

He regrets not stopping his son from getting in the ring, he said.

"By the time (my son) got (to the hospital), the severity of his injury was obvious. No surgery could be performed. He was on a life-support machine for 48 hours, and then he was allowed to pass away," said Chapman.

Erik Magraken, a combat sports regulatory lawyer in B.C., said the nature of MMA requires a long period of training.

"MMA is a difficult and dangerous sport, and the skill set required needs to be built in more than just eight weeks in the gym before entering the cage,” he said.

Magraken said Alberta is the only province in Canada that doesn't have a regulatory body for combative sports. "It's the Wild, Wild West in terms of how these sports are regulated."

An inquiry report into the 2017 death of Edmonton boxer Tim Hague recommended the province regulate combative sporting events instead of allowing them to operate through a patchwork of commissions.

Alberta Sport Minister Joseph Schow recently announced a review to improve athlete safety in combat sports.