Tragedy in MMA charity event.
Yet another death in a poorly regulated event.
My thanks to one of my subscribers for alerting me to this.
It’s happened again.
Almost exactly a year ago I did a piece on UK white collar boxing called, ‘From Rookie to Rocky’, https://budojourneyman.substack.com/p/from-rookie-to-rocky
In six years there have been three deaths in white collar boxing in the UK; some of which come out of bad regulation, poor preparations and opportunist promotors.
This time it was in an MMA event in Edmonton, Canada, in November 2024.
The basic facts as reported in the press.
Trokon Dousuah, 33, married, father of two children, with another on the way, died shortly after being carried out of the ring at a charity MMA event, promoted through a connecting arm of a UK company, (the same ones who were also connected to the above-mentioned white collar boxing events in the UK).
It was reported that Dousuah died of a ruptured kidney on the Monday following the event on the Saturday. Questions were asked as to how he was ever passed medically fit, as his family and friends said he was asthmatic.
There seemed to have been a predictable pattern where, under the worthy umbrella of ‘charity’, people were being encouraged to put their names forward to fight in these full-contact, no protection events, with only a bare minimum of preparation. On that particular night in Edmonton there were 30 rookie ‘fighters’ on the bill. They were each given two one-hour training sessions a week for a period of two months. Sixteen hours of training, ring craft, conditioning and fitness work; how was that ever going to work?
Serious practitioners and trainers in MMA have been quick to condemn this ridiculously cavalier approach.
In the same event, a competitor said that in one of the matches there was a twenty pounds weight difference between the two fighters – it should never have happened.
Respected fighter and trainer Ryan Ford said, “You play basketball, you play football, but you don’t play combat sports. Whether it’s professional or amateur, stepping into that ring or cage, or even just sparring, carries real risk. Risk to your health, and risk to your life.”
The Canadian press tell us that Alberta (where the event happened) is notorious for having no centralised control of such events; instead relying on a patchwork of groups, leaving the situation open to sloppiness and opportunism.
Also, in Alberta, in 2017 a boxer called Tim Hague died, prompting an investigation; but clearly recommendations were not really acted upon.
What’s going on?
Unscrupulous opportunism may well be at the heart of this. The convenience and the moral currency of attaching the label of ‘charity’ to these events seems to set up a smoke-screen for sharp practice, as well as acting as an incentive to anyone thinking they can just ‘have a go’. What further excuse do you need?
But forget about the promotors and the organisers. What is it that convinces the raw beginner that this might be a good idea? How does this manage to bypass the normal rules of common sense and risk calculation?
This is not an exclusively guy thing, plenty of women get drawn into this as well. But…
For guys, I suspect that a number of factors are at play.
A basic list:
· Bro-culture and peer pressure (‘If you wanna be a man in a man’s world’, blah blah).
· Doing something for charity (there are lots of challenging and safer things that can be done for charity).
· For guys, something about feeling unfulfilled (see below).
· ‘Surely, it’s just a ramped-up version of boot camp training, and it’s fun hitting all those pads’? Yes but, what is your reference to people hitting you back? Some playground scrap when you were ten?
I can’t speak for Trokon Dousuah, only his grieving family have that insight and that right.
The answer to this is not an outright ban, but clear regulation and preparation of competitors, with proper medical screening before during and after. And for goodness’s sake, take it out of the hands of the cowboys.
In addition; I don’t advocate that things should be regulated out of existence, and certainly I don’t think that life should be without risks; but those risks need to be calculated and proportional. You can still get your adrenalin rush without putting your life on the line.
As a final point; in the combat sports, young people in particular need a realistic view of how fragile the human body is.
Watch out for my future piece on the book and the movie ‘Fight Club’, it may well touch further on this subject.
As a footnote; not all charity events with inherent risks involved are to do with trying to punch and kick another person into unconsciousness. But can still end in tragedy.
In June 2023 Iain Hughes from Dudley, West Midlands died in his charity attempt at a cross-channel swim. Mr Hughes is one of a long list of tragic deaths in the name of a charity crossing.
Details on the Trokon Dousuah story can be found at:
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmonton-mma-death-enoch