Portuguese MMA fighter dies after knockout loss in Dublin

A Portuguese mixed martial artist died from injuries sustained in the cage Tuesday, three days after a Total Extreme Fighting bout in Dublin.

Joao Carvalho, 28, was hospitalized following a knockout loss to welterweight Charlie Ward on Saturday night.

According to a statement issued by TEF, Carvalho was assessed by doctors and medical staff following the fight as per normal procedure after which it was it was determined he should be sent to the hospital.

He received emergency treatment and was transferred to intensive care later in the evening.

Reports on an official cause of death are still pending.

“We extend our most sincere condolences to the family of Joao Carvalho’s and his teammates in Team Nobrega,” TEF CEO Cesar Silva said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them. We’d also like to thank all sports fans for their concern and support. We will give whatever support we can to Joao’s family.

“We have been in contact with his family and they have requested that we all understand their need for privacy at this difficult time.”

Ward is a teammate of Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Conor McGregor.

McGregor, who was in attendance at the event, told MMAConnectTV at the time the fight may have gone on too long.

“My teammate Charlie had a good win just there. Hell of a fight. (Carvalho) took some big shots,” McGregor said. “Thought it could have been stopped a little earlier. I feel these referees need to be on the ball a little bit.”

He went on to praise the swift action of medical personnel and the advancements made in the regulation of the sport to have such precautions in place.

The UFC featherweight champion took to social media Tuesday after learning the “terrible news” Carvalho had died in the hospital.

“To see a young man doing what he loves, competing for a chance at a better life, and then to have it taken away is truly heartbreaking,” McGregor posted on Facebook. “We are just men and women doing something we love in the hope of a better life for ourselves and our families. Nobody involved in combat sports of any kind wants to see this. It is such a rare occurrence that I don’t know how to take this.”

No deaths have occurred as a result of a fight in the UFC.

McGregor said the outcome was made particularly hard to comprehend because the action was largely “back-and-forth.”

“My condolences go out to Joao’s family and his team. Their man was a hell of a fighter and will be sorely missed by all,” he wrote. “Combat sport is a crazy game and with the recent incident in boxing and now this in MMA, it is a sad time to be a fighter and a fight fan. It is easy for those on the outside to criticize our way of living, but for the millions of people around the world who have had their lives, their health, their fitness and their mental strength all changed for the better through combat, this is truly a bitter pill to swallow. We have lost one of us.

“I hope we remember Joao as a champion, who pursued his dream doing what he loved, and show him the eternal respect and admiration he deserves. Rest in peace, Joao.”