Elias Theodorou.Photo: Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty
Former UFC fighter Elias Theodorou has died of stage 4 liver cancer. He was 34 years old.
TSN reporter Aaron Bronsteter shared the news late Sunday onTwitterafter receiving confirmation from a representative for Theodorou.
“Theodorou was privately battling stage 4 liver cancer and had only told a select group of people of his diagnosis,” Bronsteter said of the Mixed Martial Arts fighter.
The Canada native won The Ultimate Fighter: Nations Middleweight Tournament against Sheldon Westcott in 2014 and fought in a total of 22 MMA matches throughout his career including 11 in the UFC from 2014 to 2019,TSNreported.
Theodorou began his career in MMA with 11 back-to-back victories,Yahoo! Sportsreported.
He last fought in December in a match against Bryan Baker, where he became the first professional athlete ever to compete in North America with a therapeutic use exemption for medical cannabis.
“Securing the therapeutic use exemption was a years-long quest that he dedicated his time and resources towards and his legacy for cannabis athletes will be felt for years to come,” Bronsteter said on Twitter.
Elias Theodorou.Mark Kolbe/Getty
In addition to his career in fighting, Theodorou also competed on season three ofThe Amazing RaceCanada.
Bronsteter described Theodorou as, “a great athlete with a wonderful sense of humor and a smile that would light up a room.”
Michael Chiesa, a fellow-MMA fighter, shared a video onTwitterfollowing the news of Theodorou’s death.
Chiesa said he “instantly found a friend” when he first met the fighter.
Chiesa recalled a time when he was called to do a last-minute press conference but didn’t have a dress shirt to throw on. He said Theodorou was wearing the sports jacket at the time and took it off and handed it to his friend.
“That’s the type of guy he was,” he said.
source: people.com
