UFC Veteran Elias Theodorou dead at 34, he silently suffered from stage 4 liver cancer
Follow Us
Elias Theodorou
Former UFC Fighter Elias Theodorou has passed away at the age of 34. He was a 11 fight UFC veteran and also a former TUF winner.
Elias was suffering from stage 4 liver cancer, an ailment only the closest to him knew about. The news was first reported by TSN and BJ Penn Dot Com, with his manager later confirming the sad news.
Elias started his UFC career as an 8-0 pro along with a 2-0 record in the TUF House. He was part of TUF Canada Vs Australia and won the middleweight bracket of the tournament and found his way into the UFC with a 7-figure contract.
Elias Theodorou, TUF Canada vs Australia winner dies at 34
In his UFC debut, he faced Sheldon Wescott and won the bout via a second sound TKO in front of him crowd in Canada. He then went on a two fight win streak with a TKO victory and one on the scorecards. He faced his professional loss when he was matched up against future Light Heavyweight Title Challenger, Thiago Santos.
Elias Theodoroualso faced other established talents like Sam Alvey, Derek Brunson and Eryk Anders. His final fight was for a local Colorado based promotion where he defeated Bellator Vet, Matt Baker via a unanimous decision.
While his career in the cage has been phenomenal in it’s own right, it’s what he did outside that left such a gaping hole after his demise. Elias was an active member in the MMA community and would often take out a lot of time to interact with fans.
Moreover, he was the first athlete in the entire North American continent to receive a therapeutic use exemption for Cannabis. According to Aaron Bronster, “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.” Hence his efforts towards sustainable recovery methods for athletes will live on.
Elias Theodorou was also someone who didn’t take himself too seriously as is evident by his taking up a role as a “Ring Card Boy” as opposed to the traditional “Ring Girls” for Invicta FC, a women’s only MMA organization.
He was also an ardent supporter of the campaign to improve working conditions for the fighters including long term care plans and independent sponsors. He will be missed by the UFC and the MMA community at large.
Rest In Peace.
Stay Updated!
Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)