MMA deaths

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Mixed Martial Arts
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MMA Fighter Commits Suicide After Murdering Girlfriend
Tragedy strikes the MMA world…
By Tim Bragg / The Fresno Bee
11/09/07 09:23:26

PORTERVILLE – Police SWAT officers who surrounded a homicide suspect as he sat in a car near a Porterville high school Thursday morning discovered he had shot himself.

The man’s mother and brother were arrested by police after officers learned they had allegedly assisted the man in avoiding arrest.

Detectives believe 29-year-old Porterville resident Bobby Joe Suggs is responsible for the Wednesday murder of Amber Nicole Zavala, 23, who was found dead at her apartment on the 300 block of North Capitola Court, said Porterville police Lt. Chris Dempsie.

Police learned of Zavala’s killing Wednesday, after people called police to report that Suggs had been talking about murdering someone, Dempsie said. Zavala’s body was discovered about 5 p.m. Wednesday. Although an exact cause of death hasn’t been determined, trauma to the body indicated she may have been strangled, Dempsie said.

Officers tried calling Suggs on his cell phone throughout the night Wednesday but didn’t get a response.

They learned at 8 a.m. Thursday that Suggs was hiding near an orange orchard on the side of a hill near the intersection of Hillcrest Street and Morton Avenue, just north of Granite Hills High School, Dempsie said.

“We got a call that he was hiding near the orange orchard and making suicidal statements,” he said.

Granite Hills High School was placed on lockdown for about four hours Thursday as police SWAT officers surrounded the car Suggs was in. A helicopter from the Kern County Sheriff’s Department was called in to try to observe Suggs, but the pilots didn’t see any movement, Dempsie said.

SWAT officers approached the car and found Suggs inside, dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, Dempsie said.

Officers don’t know exactly when Suggs shot himself, but he said others had contact with him up until about 8 a.m. by phone.

Dempsie said Suggs and Zavala had a romantic relationship, but he wasn’t sure of the extent of that relationship and whether they were still together at the time of the killing.

Joe Iness, who lives in the same apartment complex as Zavala, said neighbors didn’t hear or see anything suspicious Wednesday.

But others who lived in the complex said they had heard Zavala arguing loudly with a man they believed to be Suggs.

Dempsie said they are investigating the relationship between Suggs and Zavala, along with information that Suggs fought professionally in mixed martial arts at a local casino. He said officials may run toxicological tests on Suggs’ body.

Police also arrested Suggs’ mother, 48-year-old Patsy Suggs, and his brother, 32-year-old Jesse Suggs, on charges of helping Suggs evade arrest after learning they were aware of the killing and provided Bobby Joe Suggs with transportation, Dempsie said. Both were booked into the Tulare County Jail.

He said the two allegedly knew about Zavala’s death for at least four hours without reporting it to police. They also gave Suggs a car to drive because police were looking for his, Dempsie said.

Bobby Joe Sugg’s Sherdog profile is available here.

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Talk about misleading titles…:rolleyes:

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I’m being open ended…

…not misleading. Why would I mislead? :wink:

I build my threads to last. This way, we can put all sorts of stuff here later. That’s assuming that it doesn’t get locked down because it turned into another ****ing match by our ever-present flamers… :rolleyes:

4

that was sherdog from here?

5

You rang? :rolleyes:

6

I will personally pistol-whip the next individual that commits shenanigans in this thread.

I’d be interested to see if the fighter in question was prone to violent, anti-social acts, as well as any corresponding drug and/or alcohol problems.

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I think he killed himself because he couldn’t handle having beaten up on the old Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman.

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I agree with MK. Misleading title. Especially now because a fighter named Sammy Vasquez is still in the hospital over head injuries sustained in a bout here in Texas a few weeks ago. I actually saw the title and thought he had died.

You can read about Sammy at txmma.com btw.

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I considered calling it MMA murder suicide…

…but then I thought that there probably wouldn’t be much more to add to this thread once this news has faded. At least, I hope there aren’t more. So I chose a more open ended title. Don’t get me wrong, I not hoping for a death in the ring at all. There are a lot of ways death and MMA can interact. We’ll see if there’s more to add to this thread later on.

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[QUOTE=GeneChing;816626]…but then I thought that there probably wouldn’t be much more to add to this thread once this news has faded. At least, I hope there aren’t more. So I chose a more open ended title. Don’t get me wrong, I not hoping for a death in the ring at all. There are a lot of ways death and MMA can interact. We’ll see if there’s more to add to this thread later on.[/QUOTE]

You should have called it “The thread about every criminal in America that also happens to train MMA.”

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Bobby Hoffman would be the poster child for that.

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I’m being open ended…
the way you havent expressed any sadness at what is nothing but a human tragedy says to me means you must have other intentions, so open ended isnt actually so open ended…

what the **** does it matter that the guy also fought mma?

i cant see anything in this thread but sensationalism. putting mma and death in the same sentence… there’s a lotta ways ANYTHING and death can interact, and a lotta ways mma can interact with anything.

media exploitation.

disgraceful IMO.

i dont always believe it, but there’s a saying if you aint part of the solution youre part of the problem. what are you?

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[QUOTE=stricker;817880]what the **** does it matter that the guy also fought mma?[/QUOTE]

I agree 100% Stricker. Look at the ‘Busted Instructors’ thread. It’s not just MMA. And I still say the thread title is totally misleading and not appropriate for this situation.

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So what type of conversation does this generate? A MMA fighter killed his girl and shot himself. So have a whole lot of other people. Police, businessmen, retired people, OJ. I don’t think this guy training MMA makes this a martial arts related thread. This is a thread about crazy muth****as that commit murder-suicides. Therefore, this thread belongs on tha main board with the rest of the off topic stuff. I demand the moderators move this thread and ban Gene Ching for making off topic posts!

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we got a gene hatre in our midst. alot of them popping up lately whats up with that!

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[QUOTE=Water Dragon;818092]So what type of conversation does this generate? A MMA fighter killed his girl and shot himself. So have a whole lot of other people. Police, businessmen, retired people, OJ. I don’t think this guy training MMA makes this a martial arts related thread. This is a thread about crazy muth****as that commit murder-suicides. Therefore, this thread belongs on tha main board with the rest of the off topic stuff. I demand the moderators move this thread and ban Gene Ching for making off topic posts![/QUOTE]

I disagree, in part. MMA doesn’t necessarily teach self-control. I know, it does in some ways: IE, when you’ve got someone in a potentially crippling hold, it’s self-control that keeps you from snapping a neck. But if you have a lot of aggression and a certain degenrate psychological bent, MMA could be as damaging as torturing small animals.

I do agree with you that MMA isn’t the cause, however.

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[QUOTE=Shaolin Wookie;818198]I disagree, in part. MMA doesn’t necessarily teach self-control. I know, it does in some ways: IE, when you’ve got someone in a potentially crippling hold, it’s self-control that keeps you from snapping a neck. But if you have a lot of aggression and a certain degenrate psychological bent, MMA could be as damaging as torturing small animals.[/QUOTE]

You don’t really know much about MMA do you? It’s a fighting style, it’s the student’s job to have self-control. And to be honest we don’t have too many (I’ll admit I’ve never been tought one) neck snapping holds. It’s mostly chokes and joint locks. If the student is sadistic, he can use TMA to hurt people too.

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[QUOTE=1bad65;818218]You don’t really know much about MMA do you? It’s a fighting style, it’s the student’s job to have self-control. And to be honest we don’t have too many (I’ll admit I’ve never been tought one) neck snapping holds. It’s mostly chokes and joint locks. If the student is sadistic, he can use TMA to hurt people too.[/QUOTE]

You don’t really know much about reading comprehension do you?:stuck_out_tongue:

“But if you have a lot of aggression and a certain degenrate psychological bent, MMA could be as damaging as torturing small animals. But I agree that MMA is not the cause, however.”

Yes, you can use TMA to that end. But a more violent person looking to bloody up random people wouldn’t join a TMA school, which teaches stricter self-control. You have a freer license to aggression in MMA, b/c the opportunity is there. Look at UFC vs. Sanda. It’s a lot different.

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MMA, especially the grappling portion, is all about self-control. You literally have your life and health in your opponents hands. You can’t have hot heads gettting ticked off and snapping joints and not letting go of chokes.

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Rene Ayangma

Sad story. So young.

Rest in peace.

UPEI student collapses and dies after mixed martial arts workout
4 days ago

CHARLOTTETOWN - Prince Edward Island’s chief coroner is investigating the sudden death of a university student who collapsed after a mixed martial arts sparring session.

Rene Ayangma, 20, had just finished training Tuesday night for his second professional fight when he collapsed at a gym in Stratford, P.E.I.

He died later in hospital.

His father, Noel Ayangma, said his son “was one of the nicest persons you would ever see.”

“He was always happy. He loved everybody. For his age, he was just too much,” he said Wednesday night.

Ayangma is the second young athlete to die this week in unexplained circumstances.

Mickey Renaud, captain of the Ontario Hockey League Windsor Spitfires, collapsed on Monday at his home in nearby Tecumseh, Ont. He was 19.

Rene Ayangma was a biology student at the University of Prince Edward and a former member of the school’s soccer team.

A Facebook group established in Ayangma’s memory attracted more than 1,000 members by midday Wednesday.

“You will be missed man … you’re too young to go,” one person posted on the group. “I was looking forward to the next fight. See you someday dude!”

Another person said his favourite memory of Ayangma “would have to be any time I saw him.”

“He always had the best smile on his face, a great attitude and was the life of the party. We will miss you so much Rene.”

Ayangma won his professional debut in Moncton, N.B., in December. He was training for a March 15 in Halifax when he collapsed and died.

Noel Ayangma described his son as a natural athlete who was good at every sport he played.

“He was always making sure he was the best,” he said. "I think that’s what killed him because he was trying to be ready.

“He was young, lovely boy.”

Ayangma said mixed martial arts wasn’t a sport he enjoyed but accepted his son’s involvement because “that’s what he loved.”

“Maybe that’s what killed him, I don’t know,” he said.

P.E.I. MMA fighter dies after sparring
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Click here to find out more!
THE CANADIAN PRESS

CHARLOTTETOWN – Noel Ayangma isn’t a fan of mixed martial arts but accepted his son’s participation “because he loved it so much.”

Rene Ayangma, 20, died suddenly Tuesday night, shortly after finishing a sparring session in preparation for his second professional bout.

“He was a young, lovely boy,” a sombre father said Wednesday night.

Rene Ayangma was training at Largo Fitness Centre in Stratford, P.E.I., when he collapsed shortly after finishing a light sparring session.

Mike Gallant, a spokesperson with the fight club, said Ayangma had just finished his workout when he dropped suddenly to a knee and fell forward.

Gallant said an instructor and a club member rushed in to perform CPR on Ayangma, who had lost consciousness but still had “shallow breathing.”

He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The cause of death wasn’t immediately known and the province’s chief coroner was investigating. An autopsy was to be performed Wednesday.

The death was the second this week involving a young, fit athlete.

Mickey Renaud, captain of the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League, collapsed at his Tecumseh, Ont., home Monday and died. He was 19.

The cause has yet to be determined.

Noel Ayangma said his son, a biology student at the University of Prince Edward Island, was “one of the nicest persons you would ever see.”

“He was always happy. He loved everybody. For his age, he was just too much,” he said.

A Facebook group established in Ayangma’s memory attracted more than 1,000 members by midday Wednesday.

“You will be missed man … you’re too young to go,” one person posted on the group. “I was looking forward to the next fight. See you someday dude!”

Another person said his favourite memory of Ayangma “would have to be any time I saw him.”

“He always had the best smile on his face, a great attitude and was the life of the party. We will miss you so much Rene.”

Gallant said the tall, muscular Ayangma was in great physical condition and had passed a thorough medical before his first fight in Moncton, N.B., in December, which he won. His second fight was to be held March 15 in Halifax.

“He was fantastic,” he said. “He was a natural at it. He was strong and had a very natural, athletic ability.”

The club was sombre Wednesday as friends and fellow competitors tried to come to grips with the death.

“There’s still a lot of shock and a lot of reminiscing going on,” said Gallant. “He’s going to be missed for a long time to come.”

Lewis Page, coach of the UPEI men’s soccer team, was stunned by the news. He coached Ayangma in soccer on and off since the athlete was about 13, including stints with the UPEI Panthers and provincial teams.

“The first reaction is disbelief,” said Page. “I mean a young, healthy, strong guy. … He was just one of those guys that you always wanted on your team because he was so upbeat, so good with the other players, always positive – a joy to coach.”

Ayangma played for the Panthers for three years before choosing to leave the sport in the fall to pursue mixed martial arts.

His father described his son as a natural athlete who was good at every sport he played.

“He was always making sure he was the best,” he said. “I think that’s what killed him because he was trying to be ready.”

Gallant said Ayangma dreamed to make a career out of fighting. “He had lots of aspirations and he seemed well on his way with them.”

Mixed martial arts is a full contact combat sport in which a wide variety of fighting techniques are used, including punching and leg strikes.

Larry Hale, chair of the university’s biology department, said Ayangma expressed interest in going to medical school, possibly specializing in sport medicine. He was taking both second- and third-year courses at the Charlottetown school.

“He was very engaged in my genetics course,” Hale said. “When he asked questions, they were insightful.”