Tributes pour in from the MMA community as news breaks on the death of former UFC fighter Elias Theodoru.
Elias’ UFC career
Theodoru fought in the UFC 11 times, picking up eight wins and three losses. He left the promotion in 2019 to begin fighting regionally, last sharing the cage with Bryan Baker. Theodoru did not share any news of his long-term illness with the public. It is now known that he was battling stage four liver cancer. He lost this battle on Sunday, 11th September.
Following his departure from the UFC, Theodoru fought back in his home country of Canada on the regional scene. Here he got wins over Hernarni Perpetuo and UFC veteran Matt Dwyer, both via TKO. As well as being a fighter, Elias was also the ring-card man for Invicta FC. Elias was also an advocate for allowing marijuana use in the sport. He stated, “I want to use my platform to bring attention to what I’m doing. But also bring attention to the current stigma that unfortunately surrounds cannabis”. He wanted to get marijuana off the banned list from USADA.
Theodoru ended up achieving his goal when he fought Matt Dwyer, becoming the first fighter in North America to compete with a “therapeutic use exemption for cannabis”. Recent changes to USADA’s banned list also now include cannabis. UFC athletes will no longer be punished if they test positive for marijuana. This is as long as the use of marijuana is not linked to performance enhancement.
Tributes Pour in for Elias
The mma community mourns the loss of Elias after the shocking news. Fighters began to pay their respects on social media, with many having nothing but praise for Theodoru. Belal Muhammad wrote, “Wow, Rest In Peace”. ONE heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar said, “This is so damn sad. Never heard a bad thing about him, and blown away he just fought less than a year ago. President of Invicta Fighting Championship Shannon Knapp wrote a heartfelt statement for Elias. He posted, “You were such a beautiful soul. Always so kind and such a bright light in this world. This news is devastating. You will be greatly missed, but never forgotten. Fly high, Elias!”
Elias Theodoru was a strong fighter both inside and out of the cage. He will be greatly missed by the mma community. We send our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends at this time.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
