RCMP investigating death of Edmonton fighter who participated in Ultra MMA event

Mounties in Alberta are investigating the death of a fighter following a mixed martial arts charity event.

RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said the man was taken to hospital after he fought Saturday at a community centre in Enoch Cree First Nation west of Edmonton. Parkland RCMP received a report of the man’s death on Monday morning, he said.

“This fighter did die in hospital. However, it was immediately after the fight, so you would attribute it to the fight,” Savinkoff said Wednesday.

“This is a very traumatic incident, and I’m sure it’s traumatic for those that were watching the event.”

The fighter was 33 and lived in Edmonton.

The organizer of Saturday’s event, Ultra Events Canada, said in an email Wednesday it was devastated to hear about the death of a participant.

“Ultra Events Canada will, of course, offer his family and friends any support we can at this very sad time,” it said.

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

Earlier this month, a judge in a fatality inquiry into the 2017 death of Edmonton boxer Tim Hague recommended Alberta regulate combative sporting events in the province instead of allowing them to operate through a patchwork of municipal bodies.

In her 14 recommendations, Justice Carrie Sharpe with Alberta’s provincial court also said a boxer should be required to provide CT scans every six months and referees should be provided with mandatory yearly training on head trauma.

Alberta Sport Minister Joseph Schow says the government would be in contact with the First Nation to learn about what happened in that fight.

“It’s very concerning,” he told reporters Tuesday.

Nancy Bishay, the Sport ministry’s communications director, added in an email that the province is reviewing the fatality inquiry report into Hague’s death, published in October, and will respond in the coming months.

“Under the Municipal Government Act, municipalities in Alberta currently hold the decision-making authority through municipal combative sport commissions, and will sometimes sanction events on First Nations,” she said.

“These municipal combative sport commissions set their own rules and guidelines with regard to the sanctioning of these events.”