Former UFC fighter Elias Theodorou dies at 34 due to liver cancer

The world of mixed martial arts is grieving after the death of former UFC fighter Elias Theodorou, who passed away after a battle with liver cancer. He was 34 years old.

The news about his death has been confirmed by various sources after reports first appeared on social media in the last few hours. It is understood that Theodorou had been suffering from stage four liver cancer.

Theodorou was a former winner of the popular UFC reality series 'The Ultimate Fighter' and battled 11 times for the organization between 2014 and 2019, winning eight and losing just three.

The Ontario, Canada local had wins against Eryk Anders, Cezar Ferreira and Sam Alvey during his tenure in the UFC and simply lost to high even out contenders like Thiago Santos, Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson.

He was released from the UFC following a May 2019 misfortune to Brunson, after which UFC president Dana White expressed that he didn't completely accept that Theodorou could at any point break the main five rankings at middleweight.

Theodorou responded by taking out his next two adversaries. He posted an overall record of 19-3 and was never knocked out or submitted in his fighting career. His most recent fight took place last December, where he defeated former Bellator standout Bryan Baker by unanimous decision in what turned out to be the last fight of his career.

Theodorou was also noted for being a strong advocate for the use of medical cannabis and in January 2020 he became the first wrestler to receive a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) awarded to him by the British Columbia Athletic Commission.

UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad also spoke of his sadness: "Rest In Peace."

Added UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling: "I was speechless to hear the news about one of the nicest guys I've ever met in the sport. RIP Elias. this is sad."