michael kirkham
Michael Kirkham Dies Pro MMA Debut
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A 6-foot-9 mixed martial arts fighter named Michael Kirkham, 30, has died from brain injuries suffered in his professional MMA debut.
The 30-year-old Kirkham died from bleeding in the brain, according to the Aiken County coroner’s office. Coroner Tim Carlton said Michael Kirkham collapsed after Saturday night’s fight and was rushed to Aiken Regional Medical Center where he never regained consciousness, an autopsy will be done on Tuesday.
WRDW in Augusta first reported that Kirkham was transported to Aiken Regional Medical Center from the venue following the fight and was pronounced dead of a brain hemorrhage Monday morning.
Coroner Tim Carlton confirmed to MMAFighting.com that Kirkham was unconscious from the finish of the fight all the way until this morning. An autopsy will be conducted Tuesday.
Kirkham, who according to his own Facebook page, held an amateur record of 3-3, was taken down early in the fight and lost by referee stoppage from ground and pound strikes. But when he did not regain consciousness, doctors and medics attended to him in the ring and stretchered him out.
Kirkham was the captain of his own “Fayetteville Independents” MMA team and according to his teammate John Yox’s Facebook page, had “severe bleeding in the brain” and had been kept on life support. A message left on Yox’s voicemail was not returned.
The South Carolina Athletic Commission requires that all boxers and MMA fighters submit an original or certified lab report indicating that the competitor is HIV, Hepatitis B and C negative. Also, the fighter must complete an ophthalmologic (eye) exam as well as a physical by a doctor.
Kirkham becomes the second fighter to pass away due to causes from a regulated MMA fight in the US. The first known death in a regulated event was Sam Vasquez, who died on Nov. 30, 2007 from head injuries on a local card in Houston, Texas. Vazquez was in a coma for 42 days after the fight in October.