After First Pro Bout – Fighter Dies in South Carolina
On Monday, Michael Kirkham, a 30-year-old based in Fayetteville, N.C., passed away because of injuries sustained during his first professional MMA match. In less than three years, for the second time such an unfortunate incident has occurred in the mixed martial arts community. The 6 feet 9 inches tall, lightweight fighter was knocked out and he never regained consciousness. Two days later, at nearby Aiken Regional Medical Center, he was pronounced dead.
On Monday, the Associated Press was told by Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton that Kirkham died from bleeding inside the brain. On Tuesday, an autopsy will be conducted.
Until state legislators approved a measure to allow the South Carolina Athletic Commission to regulate fights last summer, South Carolina law prevented organized MMA competition. As an amateur, Kirkham held a 3-3 mark and he was trained in tae kwon do and submission wrestling for three and a half years. In Fayetteville, N.C, he operated out of the Fayetteville Independents camp.
As the only other fatality at a regulated event, Kirkham joins Sam Vasquez. Vasquez passed away in his bout with Vince Libardi at a Renegades Fighting Extreme show in Houston.
succumbing to strikes 2:50 into round three, the 35-year-old married father of one battled Libardi in a featherweight contest at the Toyota Center, competing for the first time in more than a year. He underwent the first of two surgeries to relieve pressure on his brain, two weeks after he was admitted. He suffered a massive stroke, went into coma and unfortunately passed away.