Young and in-shape athlete dropping dead after and during workouts and even games, is nothing new.
I read that title and though this was a death in the ring . . . Not really sure what him being an MMA fighter really has to do with his killing. People who are not MMA fighters kill other people all the time.
[QUOTE=martialartspeon;844485]I read that title and though this was a death in the ring . . . Not really sure what him being an MMA fighter really has to do with his killing. People who are not MMA fighters kill other people all the time.[/QUOTE]
We’re past that story now. This new story was about a fighter dropping dead after a sparring session.
Wow…people are so sensitive.
I think MMArists are among the most disciplined fighters in the world…perhaps moreso than boxers and wrestlers. Only a disciplined individual would be able to go through such training and succeed.
On the other hand, if you’re talking about moral discipline, what is thought to be a primary concern in traditional MA’s, than no…it’s not there. Why? Because MMA is typically practiced for sport–not for character building (though I still think it does that as well).
If someone is a nut-job–they would have been a nut-job regardless of what occupation or hobbies they are into.
Now onto the second subject…
what the heck happened to the kick? What is heart failure? A lot of people train without regard to their heart rates…and don’t cool off properly. It’s like when you see someone run for a while and then simply stop. Good way to have a heart attack. It’s too bad…sounds like the kid was a good person and just truly loved the sport.
I am biased, but the American soldier is the most disciplined.
Vankuen,
I’ve been waiting for you to rear your ugly head again. Email me.
redsash96@yahoo.com
Bob
Slightly OT
Kucharzewski wasn’t truly an MMA fighter but he was a full contact fighter. Dead at 39. Autopsy presently inconclusive. Another tragedy for sure.
Late fighter was “Happy-go-lucky”
Windsor Star
Published: Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Late Windsor karate fighter Tomasz Kucharzewski may have been hard-hitting in the ring, but he was a fun guy outside of it, says his instructor.
“Happy-go-lucky,” said Albert Mady of Mady’s Karate, where Kucharzewski trained for 16 years. “Around me, he was always very, very nice, friendly, fun.”
Kucharzewski was found by family members dead in his downtown apartment on Saturday. He was 39.
A veteran competitor, Kucharzewski took part in numerous full-contact karate events, winning several titles in national and international organizations. He competed five times in K-1, considered by many in the martial arts community as the world’s premier kickboxing event.
Mady estimated Kucharzewski had around 300 bouts to his credit, including bare-knuckle knockdown tournaments and Thai-style kickboxing matches.
Despite Kucharzewski’s brawny exterior - six feet tall and around 225 pounds at fighting weight - Mady said his fondest memories of the Polish-born black belt concerned his sense of humour.
“Tomasz liked to joke,” Mady said. “One time, we were in Las Vegas and we watched George Carlin - hilarious. We’d be sitting there, and Carlin would tell a joke and everybody would be cracking up… Tomasz had to translate it in his head. Ten seconds after everybody laughed, you’d hear: ‘Huh huh huh huh huh huh!’ He was killing us.”
Mady said Kucharzewski, who worked at Chromeshield, wasn’t training as hard in recent years due to a knee injury.
An autopsy has been performed on Kucharzewski’s body. “Things are inconclusive right now,” Mady said.
Kucharzewski wasn’t married and had no children. He is survived by his parents, sister, brother-in-law and niece in Windsor, as well as extended family in Poland.
Visitation will take place 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Windsor Chapel Funeral Home, 1700 Tecumseh Rd. East. A funeral mass will take place 10 a.m. Saturday at Holy Trinity Polish Church, to be followed by cremation.
Mixed martial arts fighter, wife found dead
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. – A mixed martial arts fighter and his wife were found shot to death in a Laguna Niguel condominium in what authorities said was an apparent murder-suicide.
The bodies of Justin Levens and his wife, Sarah McLean-Levens, were found Wednesday afternoon, Orange County sheriff’s officials said. The 28-year-old Levens competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and other organizations.
Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said the couple was found by the woman’s mother, who called 911.
Lt. Mike Jansen says further information would be released Thursday.
All over the newsfeeds
MMA fighter Levens, wife shot to death
Published: Dec. 18, 2008 at 11:00 AM
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., Dec. 18 (UPI) – A mixed martial arts fighter and his wife were found shot to death in their Southern California home in an apparent killing-suicide, authorities said Thursday.
Justin Levens, 28, nicknamed “The Executioner,” and Sarah McLean-Levens, 25, were found in the couple’s bedroom by the woman’s mother, Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.
A gun was also found at the scene, CNN reported.
There were no signs of a struggle, Amormino said.
Levens, who fought for the Southern California Condors of the International Fight League (OTCBB:IFLI), was born in Philadelphia and moved to California to pursue a fighting career.
He was black belt trained by Brazilian-born instructor Marco Ruas in a style of submission fighting known as Vale Tudo, which is Portuguese for “Anything Goes.”
At 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, Levens had a 9-8 record fighting in various mixed martial arts federations.
He tested positive for oxymorphone, an opioid analgesic that is six to eight times more potent than morphine, in a drug test just before a July 19 bout, MMAjunkie.com reported.
Levens received a $1,000 fine and a six-month suspension that was set to run through Jan. 15, 2009.
Another MMA Tragedy Unfolds In Los Angeles
By Rick Chandler, 9:45 AM on Thu Dec 18 2008, 4,306 views
Mixed Martial Arts fighter Justin Levens, shown here on the left, and his wife were found shot to death in an apparent murder-suicide in their Los Angeles-area condominium, say police.
Levens, 28, is an ex- Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting participant, but hadn’t fought since 2006. He and and his wife, Sarah McLean-Levens, 25, were found shot to death in their Laguna Niguel condo Wednesday afternoon.
Ironically, one of his last losses was to Evan Tanner, who died of exposure in a remote area of the Palo Verde mountains this past September. From Sherdog.com:
A standout on the central California circuit, Levens found early success in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion and went undefeated in his first seven fights. Levens was scheduled to face Ray Lazama at Affliction "Banned" on July 19 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., but the bout was cancelled that night due to time constraints. The California State Athletic Commission later announced that Levens had tested positive for the painkiller oxymorphone during pre-fight testing.
I’m not sure what in Levens’ background may have led him to this, but with the MMA we’re not exactly dealing with your typical athlete. Another fighter at the Affliction event, Sergei “The Pit Bull” Arlovsky, is featured on his web site with vampire fangs.
There are more articles, but nothing offers anything additional so far…
I hope I am wrong, but the last thing MMA needs is idiot drug addict’s killing loved ones much akin to the WWE and their recent problems with roid rage ****.
I feel for his wife.
Jake
What a shame but again they are human and its a dog eat dog world out there.
Drug Abuse is rampant amongst many professional athletes and generally overlooked or ignored by the promotors, etc.
RIPhttp://www.mmazed.com/images/stories/affliction/justin-levens.jpg
More on Levens
Was anyone following Levens here as a fan? Anyone see any of his fights?
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Martial arts fighter was to be in court day he was found dead
Justin Levens was under suspension from MMA fighting because he had misused powerful painkiller, officials say.
By VIK JOLLY, ALEJANDRA MOLINA, CHRIS CAESAR, and LOIS EVEZICH
The Orange County Register
LAGUNA NIGUEL The mixed martial arts fighter and his wife who were found shot to death Wednesday in their Laguna Niguel condo were scheduled to appear earlier that day in court, where they faced charges of aggravated assault, authorities said.
The deaths of Justin Levens, 28, and his wife, Sara McLean-Levens, 25, are being investigated as a possible murder-suicide.
The couple was found in their bedroom with gunshot wounds and authorities found a handgun near Levens, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Levens was found with a gunshot wound to his head and his wife, a gunshot wound to her chest.
When discovered by a relative who went to do a welfare check, the couple was believed to have been dead for “a couple of days,” he said.
Levens was under suspension from mixed martial arts fighting because it had been determined that he had misused medication, Amormino said.
The couple, who had pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor aggravated assault charge on Aug. 27, in Orange County Superior Court, were represented by their attorney at the court hearing Wednesday at which a pretrial date was set for Jan. 21, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
In 2003, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of corporal injury in a domestic violence case, according to court records.
The misdemeanor charge stems from a Dec. 13, 2007, incident in which the couple is accused of picking up a 27-year-old man identified in a criminal complaint as Matthew David G. from a friend’s house in South Orange County after midnight, said Farrah Emami, a District Attorney spokeswoman.
Sara McLean-Levens asked the man for $200 he owed her and he gave her $80, Emami said. When she asked for the rest of the money, he said he didn’t have it and at that point she pulled over, nodding to her husband, Emami said. Justin Levens then got the victim out of the back seat and throwing him to the ground, punched and kicked him until his wife told him it was enough and the couple drove off, Emami said.
The man was treated for cuts and bruises on his face and later filed a police report, she said.
The couple’s Laguna Hills attorney Gary Pohlson says Justin Levens was not even in town at the time of the alleged incident, the details of which he disputed. Further, he said, that the couple was not worried about the outcome of this case, in which a settlement probably would have been worked out and the couple at worst faced a fine or community service.
The deaths stunned Pohlson.
“I was completely shocked when my partner told me this morning. The one time I saw them they were together and they seemed very happy,” he said.
Pohlson said he met Justin Levens only once but had spoken with Sara McLean-Levens about half a dozen times and did not know the couple very well. He had been retained by McLean-Levens, a bartender, who was referred to him by a friend.
“She seemed like a very nice girl,” he said.
Justin Levens was in Big Bear area training for an upcoming bout at the time of the alleged aggravated assault, Pohlson said. The money in question was stolen, he said, from McLean-Levens and on the night of the incident, she got a telephone call from Matthew David G. saying he was going to pay her back, Pohlson said, adding that the man got beaten later by someone else and tried to pin it on the couple.
“They weren’t particularly distressed about the case,” he said. “The case was never going to be a big deal at all.”
Levens’ suspension from fighting had been the subject of a Mixed Martial Arts online story. According to mmaweekly.com, Levens tested positive for oxymorphone, a painkiller given by injection, when he underwent drug testing for a July 2008 fight that was eventually scrapped.
He was subsequently fined and suspended for six months, which would have run through Jan. 15.
Laguna Niguel resident Kimbo Luzano, a close friend of Levens, said he believed Levens was also going through depression - not being able to fight and having marital and money issues.
Luzano said that Levens wasn’t the same after MMA fighter Jeremy Williams, a close friend of Levens, died last year of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot on May 5, 2007.
Levens and his wife had only been married a little over a year, Luzano said, adding that Levens did not have any family in Orange County. His parents live in Colorado, he said.
“He was a tough fighter but inside he was lovable,” Luzano said. “He would do anything for his friends…really sincere and genuine sweet guy.”
“I still can’t believe what happened,” Luzano added.
The couple were found dead Wednesday after McLean-Levens’ mother called 911 about 2:30 p.m. to report her discovery.
Homicide investigators were at the couple’s condo throughout much of Wednesday night, said sheriff’s Lt. Val Wilson.
According to a biography written about Levens on his MySpace page, Levens had a tough childhood and was always picked on and had to use his fighting skills to protect himself from other kids.
In the biography, Levens said that even though he turned professional, he was a laid-back guy.
“I’ve been in one street fight (since turning pro),” he said in the blog posted last October. “It’s not me picking on them; I’m a pretty quiet guy when I go out. I don’t say much and I really just talk to my friends. I don’t why, but people seem to pick on me. I’m pretty quiet, but sometimes it happens. This one guy: I was just standing there and he just threw water on me and pushed me. From there, it just kind of turned into a fight. A fast one, but it was a fight.”
Born in Philadelphia, Levens, who was nicknamed “The Executioner,” moved to Newport Beach to pursue a career in fighting. Levens was a black belt trained by Marco Ruas in a style of fighting known as Vale Tudo.
In a biography posted on the Ultimate Fighting Championship Web site, Levens said fighting in the UFC was “a childhood dream come true.”Levens also previously served in the U.S. Navy, according to the UFC Web site.At 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, Levens had a 9-8 record fighting in various mixed martial arts federations.
Another MMA fighter recently alleged to have beeb using pain killers is James Irvin, a light heavyweight who tested positive for the non-approved analgesic painkillers methadone and oxymorphone, according to sherdog.com, a Web site dedicated to the sport of MMA.
bad step dad
what a way to celebrate xmas…
Police say argument ended in fatal shooting of Boise MMA fighter
James Malec faces 2nd degree murder charges in the death of his stepson, mixed martial arts competitor Justin Eilers.
James Malec will be arraigned at the Canyon County Courthouse at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. A preliminary hearing is 8:30 a.m. Jan. 8.
Funeral services for Justin Eilers will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7809 Deer Flat Road, Nampa, with burial to follow at Kohlerlawn Cemetery. Viewing is Thursday at Alsip & Persons Funeral Chapel, 404 10th Ave. S., Nampa.
BY KRISTIN RODINE BY KRISTIN RODINE - krodine@idahostatesman.com krodine@idahostatesman.com
Edition Date: 12/30/08
Alcohol and anger fueled a Christmas-night family argument in rural Nampa that ended with a professional fighter shot dead and a former jailer behind bars, investigators say.
James Robert Malec, 48, is in the Canyon County jail on $1 million bond, charged with the second-degree murder of his 30-year-old stepson, mixed martial arts fighter Justin Mark Eilers of Boise. Malec was a deputy at the Canyon County jail during the late 1990s.
Both men had been drinking socially during a holiday gathering at the Happy Valley Road home of Malec and his wife, who is Eilers’ mother, Sheriff’s Lt. Marv Dashiell said Monday. Discord began with a parenting argument between Eilers and the mother of his young son, then escalated with a confrontation between Malec and Eilers over the younger man’s “loud and boisterous behavior,” Dashiell said.
There is no indication the two men’s fight turned physical before Eilers was shot, he said, but Eilers’ mother, Gwen Moore, told investigators that her son repeatedly swept items off the kitchen counter, scattering broken glass around. He was upset, she said, about people teasing his son. She “described her son as very violent when he has been drinking,” according to the probable cause affidavit for Malec’s murder charge.
Here’s what Moore said happened next, according to the affidavit:
"Justin got into Gwen’s face and she was telling him to be quiet. James told Justin to back down but he wouldn’t and challenged James to a fight by saying, ‘come on, come on fight me, bring it on, what do you got.’
“She said she was trying to get Justin to back off of James. Justin backed up a little bit but was still loud. Gwen said she didn’t see James pull the gun, but assumed he had one with him because he carries one all the time.”
The affidavit also includes comments from Eilers’ former girlfriend, who said Malec had told her before that he would shoot Eilers if he caused problems in his house.
Someone at the house called 911 at 10:46 p.m. to report a domestic fight, and Eilers was shot while the caller was still on the phone with the dispatcher and deputies were on the way, Dashiell said. One deputy reported that when he got there, Malec was lying face-down on the bottom step of his porch with his hands behind his back.
Eilers suffered a single bullet wound just above his right nipple; the weapon was a large-caliber handgun, Dashiell said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene about 11:36 p.m.
One of the responding deputies knew Malec from his tenure with the sheriff’s office and reported Malec “told me that he was sorry we had to meet like this again and to get the medics here to help Justin.”
Malec worked as a jail deputy and dog handler for the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office from April 1996 to July 2000, Dashiell said. He operated a dog-obedience business with his wife at their home, Dashiell said.
Eilers was a 1996 graduate of Nampa High School and former linebacker for Iowa State University who went on to become a professional mixed martial arts fighter. He appeared in 27 MMA fights, including some with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Kristin Rodine: 377-6447
Canyon County investigators are still trying to piece together how a family argument on Christmas night ended up with a professional fighter shot dead and a former jailer behind bars, Sheriff’s Lt. Marv Dashiell said Monday.
Alcohol and anger fueled the dispute, he said.
James Robert Malec, 48, is in the Canyon County jail on $1 million bond, charged with the second-degree murder of his 30-year-old stepson, mixed martial arts fighter Justin Mark Eilers of Boise. Malec was a deputy at the Canyon County jail during the late 1990s, Sheriff’s Lt. Marv Dashiell said.
Both men had been drinking socially during a holiday gathering at the Happy Valley Road home of Malec and his wife, who is Eilers’ mother, Dashiell said. Discord began with a parenting argument between Eilers and the mother of his young son, then escalated with a confrontation between Malec and Eilers over the younger man’s “loud and boisterous behavior,” Dashiell said.
There is no indication the two men’s fight turned physical before Eilers was shot, he said, but Eilers’ mother, Gwen Moore, told investigators that her son repeatedly swept items off the kitchen counter, scattering broken glass around. He was upset, she said, about people teasing his son. She “described her son as very violent when he has been drinking,” according to the probable cause affidavit for Malec’s murder charge.
Here’s what Moore said happened next, according to the affidavit:
"Justin got into Gwen’s face and she was telling him to be quiet. James told Justin to back down but he wouldn’t and challenged James to a fight by saying, ‘come on, come on fight me, bring it on, what do you got.’
“She said she was trying to get Justin to back off of James. Justin backed up a little bit but was still loud. Gwen said she didn’t see James pull the gun, but assumed he had one with him because he carries one all the time.”
The affidavit also includes comments from Eilers’ former girlfriend, who said Malec had told her before that he would shoot Eilers if he caused problems in his house.
According to investigators’ reports, Eilers and his former girlfriend got into a heated argument about raising their son, and Malec told them to take it outside. Eilers came back into the house a short time later, “still agitated,” Dashiell said, and the argument with Malec followed.
Someone at the house called 911 at 10:46 p.m. to report a domestic fight between the two men, and Eilers was shot while the caller was still on the phone with the dispatcher and deputies were on the way, Dashiell said.
Eilers suffered a single bullet wound just above his right nipple; the weapon was a large-caliber handgun, Dashiell said. Two women at the home administered CPR until paramedics arrived, and paramedics worked on Eilers for about 18 minutes before pronouncing him dead at the scene about 11:36 p.m.
Witnesses told deputies that Malec kept pointing the gun at Eilers after he was down, then removed the bullets from the gun, placed the gun on the kitchen counter and walked outside with his hands up before deputies and paramedics arrived. One deputy reported that when he got there, Malec was lying face-down on the bottom step of his porch with his hands behind his back.
One of the responding deputies knew Malec from his tenure with the sheriff’s office and reported Malec “told me that he was sorry we had to meet like this again and to get the medics here to help Justin.”
Malec worked as a jail deputy and dog handler for the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office from April 1996 to July 2000, Dashiell said. He operated a dog-obedience business with his wife at their home in the 4600 block of South Happy Valley Road, Dashiell said.
According to Idaho court records, his previous criminal record is limited to a 2004 conviction for driving while intoxicated and a 2007 speeding charge.
Eilers was a 1996 graduate of Nampa High School, where he played football and wrestled. He played linebacker for Iowa State University and went on to become a professional mixed martial arts fighter. He appeared in 27 MMA fights, including some with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the highest level of the sport. His last fight was on a national card in July, part of a prime-time doubleheader televised on Showtime and CBS.
sad
…
GeneChing was the cause apparently.
:eek:
Alcohol and in-laws usually don’t mix well.
Alcohol and firearms don’t mix very well either.
It’s not a good last few months for MMA fighters…
More on Eilers
Heartbreaking last words.
Other Eilers threads:
UFC 53 - Saturday June 4th
UFC 57: Vera vs. Eilers
Nampa mother testifies about the night mixed martial arts fighter Justin Eilers was killed
- Idaho Statesman Edition Date: 01/22/09
The mother of mixed martial arts fighter Justin Eilers testified Thursday she thought the worst of an argument was over when she heard a shot from behind her and her husband fatally shot Eilers.
Gwen Moore was the first witness called in a preliminary hearing for her husband, James Malec, who is charged with second-degree murder. She spoke haltingly, frequently wiping away tears and rarely looking toward her husband.
After about two hours of testimony from Moore and another witness, Magistrate Gregory Frates said there is enough evidence to send the case to district court, where felonies are tried. His arraignment on the charge is set for Jan.30.
She said her 30-year-old son was yelling and angry during a family gathering on Christmas night and had swept dishes and other items off her Nampa home‚s breakfast bar, breaking them. She said she had pushed her son away from the kitchen and thought he was going to go outside, so she turned to go back to washing dishes with her husband.
“As soon as I stepped aside from (Justin) I heard a shot from behind me,” Moore said. “I felt something go past my ear.”
She said her son took a couple of steps into the living room after the shot.
“He had a surprised look on his face and he said, ‘I’m dead, I’m dead. I love you mom.’ And then he fell.”
Man, it sucks having your last fight be a loss to Bigfoot.
Bottom line is you shouldn’t tear up someone else’s house while drinking. If he was asked to leave, and did not, I don’t think the father-in-law did anything wrong. I have a feeling if this happened in Texas or Florida, there would be no charges filed.