2022 was not an easy year for the combat sports community. Lots of big-name superstars passed away in 2022, and the tragic aspect of it all is that most of them passed well before their time. In honor of their legacy, here’s the complete list of the MMA, BJJ, Judo, and other combat sports notable that are no longer with us as of 2022.
Leandro Lo
One of the most charismatic people in Brazilan Jiu-Jitsu, the 8 X BJJ world champion was shot in the head and killed in a nightclub by an off-duty police officer who started a commotion with the Jiu-Jitsu legend over a bottle of tequila. The unfortunate incident happened in August of 2022 and took the entire BJJ world by surprise, with many still having a hard time processing the loss of Lo. He was 33 at the time of the incident.
Stephen Bonnar
One of the two men who managed to turn the UFC, and along with it, MMA into the worldwide acknowledged, multi-million sport it is today, Stephan Bonnar passed away in late 2022, as a result of heart complications.
Bonnar was one half of the duo behind one of the most exciting UFC matches ever, sharing the octagon with Ultimate Fighter co-star Forrest Griffin, putting MMA on the map of combat sports for good. Bonnar also worked as an analyst and had a stint in pro wrestling after his UFC career.
he was 45 at the time of his death in December 2022.
Gene LeBell
The Judo legend and one of the first people to take part in an MMA match against boxer Milo Savage in 1963. LeBell won the fight by a rear naked choke in what is considered to be America’s very first televised MMA bout.
“Judo” Gene won everything in the US in Judo during the 50s and even tried a bit of professional wrestling. He was also a stuntman, actor, fight manager, author, and one of the best grappling coaches on the planet. Ronda Rousey is just one of his many famous and successful proteges.
LeBell passed in August at the age of 89.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPH5WWybcBk
Anthony Johnson
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is another one of the fighters who left this world too soon. The UFC veteran had 18 bouts inside the octagon, two of which were championship battles, both against Daniel Cormier at light heavyweight. Rumble also fought for the Titans Championship and Bellator after his death.
His latest match was a Bellator victory by way of a knockout over Jose Augusto Azevedo in May of 2021. He announced he was ill afterward, withdrawing from Bellator’s light heavyweight tournament due to medical reasons.
He passed away in November of 2002, as a result of non-Hodgkins lymphoma and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis at the age of 38.
Orlando Sanchez
Orlando Snachez was a very beloved character in the BJJ world. the legendary ADCC champion and Gracie Barra coach was always fun to be around, drawing attention both with his larger-than-life behavior off the mats, and his technical prowess on them.
The exact cause of death is still unknown, with only the information that his passing was abrupt available to the public. The ADCC Hall Of Famer died at the age of 40 in December 2022.
Maiquel Falcao
Falcao spent most of his fighting exploits in Bellator, apart from a one-time appearance in the UFC. He was crowned the baddest man in Bellator after winning the 2012 heavyweight tournament, and his 2013 war with Alexander Shlemenko.
Falcao had a 25-3-1 record, the last one being in the win column, against Igor Pokrajac in Serbian Battle Championship. Maiquel was stabbed to death outside a bar in his native Pelotas, Brazil, at the age of 40 in January 2022.
Christian Lubenga
Lubenga was a young and promising prospect, learning Business Analytics and training at Black Woles MMA, and chasing the dream of becoming the first-ever Democratic Republic of Congo champion in the UFC.
In an unfortunate and tragic situation, Lubenga suffered fatal brain damage in his debut MMA fight just days shy of his 26 birthday. The incident happened in March 2022.
Barrington Patterson
Patterson was the W.A.K.O. European Kickboxing Champion in 1996 before deciding to pursue MMA on a more permanent basis. He had a mixed career, balancing four victories with four defeats in the span of nine years.
“One Eyed Baz” passed away from a heart attack at the age of 56 in his home in Birmingham, England in March of 2022.
Nikolai Zouev
A former Russian Sambo and freestyle wrestler is a name you might recognize from Japan’s Fighting Network back in the 1990s. He is also known as one of the best coaches of numerous PRIDE, M-1 Global, and Bellator MMA fighters.
Zouev died aged 64, as a result of heart disease in May 2022.
Mariusz Linke
The first ever Polish BJJ black belt (and accomplished Judo black belt), a multiple-time European Champion, and No-Gi Pans champion. He also fought 16 times as a professional MMA fighter, winning 11 of them, with 10 submission finishes.
Linke died at 52, following complications ns from myocarditis, which were a direct result of a serious staph infection. He passed away in May of 2022.
Tomasz Walentek
Walentek was a compatriot of Linke and fought several different European MMA tournaments, as well as the Polish Gliwice championship.
In a very tragic turn of events, Walentek is one of the many casualties of the Russian-Ukraine conflict. He was killed in July, at age 37 by Russian artillery fire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvWYwqnvW_4
Elias Theodorou
The Canadian MMA prospect was undefeated in 8 bouts before joining the Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia. He kept his run going on the show, eventually winning the middleweight tournament and ending up on the UFC roster, continuously ranking in the top ten.
Previously he was a ring boy for Invicta Fighting Championship, and a cannabis activist. He was the first professional athlete to get a therapeutic use exemption in both Canada and the US from the athletic commissions.
Colon cancer was the reason for his demise, with 34-year-old Theodorou passing away in September 2022.
Antonio Inoki
One of the best professional wrestlers to ever come out of Japan also passed away in 2022. Inoki was the man behind two pro wrestling promotions, Inoki Genome Federation and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Inoki famously fought Muhammad Ali in an “MMA” match in 1976, with Gene LeBell stepping in as the referee The fifteen-round fight which was declared a draw was witnessed by over one billion viewers across the globe.
Antonio suffered from a rare illness called systemic transthyretin amyloidosis, which was the cause of his death in October 2022, at the age of 79.
Katsuya Kitamura
A wrestler from an early age, Kitamure blew an opportunity to perform at the Olympics due to a steroid scandal that got him banned. He instead chose bodybuilding and pro-wrestling as a career path, ending up as a legend in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Dojo. It took a serious concussion to force him into retirement, with only one MMA bout to his name under the RIZIN banner.
Kitamura passed away quite suddenly, with his health deteriorating quickly due to an undisclosed illness. He died aged 36 in October 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfPQJLQgelU
Alexander Pisarev
The Russian was an expert in grappling and hand-to-hand combat sports, and already had 3 victories on his professional MMA record against some of the sternest opposition from M-1 Global, and Fight Nights Global.
The Central Federal District of MMA champion was found dead in an apartment in Moscow in October 2022, after a suspected case of food poisoning. He was 33 at the time.
Jason David Frank
Perhaps better known as Tommy from “Power Rangers”, the actor was actually an accomplished and successful martial artist, holding an 8th-degree black belt in Shotokan Karate, black belts in Wado-ruy Karate, Taekwondo, and Judo, as well as a purple belt in BJJ.
Jason also tried his hand at MMA, winning four amateur and one professional fight in eight months in 2010.
Aged 49, Jason David Frank took his own life in November 2022.
Jerald Gregori
The Montana-born two-time Junior Golden Gloves boxer held the fastest record for a knockout in the state before focusing on MMA. He fought in amateur bouts for 7 years (2013-2020) with a record of 2-6. He followed up on that with four Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship appearances in 2021.
Gregori took his life in November 2022 at the age of 28.
Tanner Marlow
One of the brightest prospects in American MMA, young Marlow had four fights to his name, all by way of stoppage, for an unblemished professional record. “The American Psycho” debuted for Legacy Fighting Championships in June 2022.
30-year-old Marlow died while fighting off a home invader, protecting his girlfriend and her ex-partner. Tanner managed to kill the intruder, but succumbed to the injuries later. The incident happens on Christmas Eve.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmZSRMBcM_M
Victoria Lee
The case of Victoria Lee’s death is arguably the saddest one on this list. This one really shook the combat sports community, as Lee was only 18 at the time of her passing.
The sister of ONE champions Angela and Christian Lee, Victoria came from a strong martial arts family and was on her way to stardom herself. She already had several Pnkaration world championships in Hawaii, and she debuted in ONE in 2021, becoming the promotion’s youngest-ever MMA fighter.
Lee passed away at 18, in December 2022 of undisclosed reasons.
Abdul-Kerim Edilov
The UFC fighter turned professional boxer had an impressive 17 victories in professional MMA bouts in the span between 2010 and 2017. He even holds a first-round submission victory over current UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka.
Edilov was found dead in late December 2022, under mysterious circumstances.
