MMA fighter, 22, dies from head injury after falling ill following bout

A young Brazilian MMA fighter has tragically passed away at just 22-years-of-age following a fight earlier this month.

Lucas Gabriel Peres, an amateur fighter from the Midwestern city of Peabiru, fought in a K-1 competition in Maringa on September 11, and was hospitalised following his bout.

Just an hour after his match-up, Peres complained of headaches and after arriving home with family, he was taken to a hospital in Campo Mourão.

And unfortunately, his condition reportedly deteriorated to the point where he was sent to the Metropolitan Hospital of Sarandi, where he was pronounced dead on Saturday September 18.

According to a report from G1 Globo, the event organisers have said they are in contact with the family and will not be making an imminent comment.

Local medical authorities known as the Instituto Médico Legal (IML) are currently looking into the causes of the fighter's death, with his death certificate reading that he suffered head trauma.

He competed once prior at amateur level, according to Tapology, losing a bout in May to Leandro Pires, and was returning to competition at the tournament earlier this month.

His passing is the latest in a sport where knockout and TKO stoppages are very common, leading to questions regarding the safety of fighters competing in MMA.

UFC boss Dana White, who is involved in running the highest level events in the sport, has said that he feels more can be done to help fighters who show signs of brain trauma.

And speaking this year after learning of the fighter Spencer Fisher's multiple medical issues related to trauma taken in his career, has committed to do as much as he can with his organisation in co-ordination with medical experts.

“Listen, we’re all learning everyday about the brain injury stuff,” White told MMA Junkie in January. “We’ve been invested in this [Lou] Ruvo Center [at the Cleveland Clinic] to try and figure out more.

"We’re now interested in this thing just came out on Real Sports about psychedelics and we’ve actually reached out to the Johns Hopkins guys and we’re diving into that.

“But listen, he’s not the first and he’s definitely not going to be the last.

"This is a contact sport and anybody who’s done this younger, myself included, is dealing with brain issues. It’s part of the gig.”

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