EDMONTON –
A mixed martial arts promoter being questioned by police over the death of an Alberta fighter is linked to a company previously called out over safety concerns after an inexperienced boxer died in the United Kingdom.
A senior coroner in Worcestershire, England, urges in a report that the U.K.-based company Ultra Events Ltd. improved its safety standards following the death of fighter Dominic Chapman in 2022. The company's website promotes MMA and boxing matches, comedy shows and adventure travel.
“Chapman suffered a serious injury during one of Ultra Events Ltd. a fatal head injury during an organized charity boxing match,” coroner David Reid said in the report.
“The concern, in my opinion, is that if action is not taken there will be deaths in the future.”
Reid's report was dated June 6th.
Nearly six months later, on November 25, near Edmonton, amateur MMA fighter Trokon Dousuah died from injuries sustained in a charity fight two days earlier. The fight was organized by Ultra MMA, which Ultra Events Ltd. said. is one of its brands in an email.
The fight took place at a community center on the Enoch Cree Nation.
Mounties said they were interviewing ultra MMA organizers and witnesses to determine the circumstances of Dousuah's death.
Mounties have not said how the 33-year-old died, but video of the fight shows him being helped out of the ring in distress.
RCMP said Monday that the investigation was continuing. A death investigation is not planned.
The bout was sanctioned by the Central Combative Sports Commission, based in Penhold, Alta.
The commission chair and the First Nation did not respond to emails seeking comment. A person who answered the phone at the community center said there was no comment.
The Canadian Press reached out to Ultra MMA and received a response from Ultra Events Canada, which said in an email that it was offering support to Dousuah's family and friends.
“As an investigation into the cause of death of our participant is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this time,” it said.
There was no comment on future fights.
According to Ultra MMA's website, training begins in January for two fights in March, one in Enoch and the other on the Tsuut'ina First Nation near Calgary.
Dousuah's cousin said it was absurd that more fights were planned.
“They need to be stopped before this happens to someone else,” Roshe Dousuah said in a telephone interview from her home in New Jersey.
“Enough is enough.”
She said her cousin's wife, who is pregnant with the couple's third child, was present at the fight and watched as he was hit and gasped.
“She screamed, ‘Stop fighting! Stop fighting!'” Dousuah said, adding that she was told by family that he suffered from internal bleeding during the fight.
A memorial service is planned for January.
A spokesperson for Ultra Events Ltd. said in an email exchange that it was “not directly affiliated” with the company that organized Dousuah’s fight.
“We would like to reiterate that the organization is not involved in conducting or organizing events in Canada/North America,” said Tony Meenaghan. “The organizations are different entities.”
There is no website for Ultra Events Canada. Ultra MMA's website allowed a reporter from The Canadian Press to sign up for the upcoming fight in Enoch, and Ultra Events Ltd. in the UK responded in an email with registration instructions.
Ultra MMA's website says it trains inexperienced fighters and then gives them a chance to step into the spotlight to raise money for a good cause.
“Experience it in a safe and comfortable environment with 8 weeks of FREE training leading up to your big night fight in a cage in front of a huge crowd at one of our glamorous events,” it says.
The British coroner's report states that Ultra Events Midlands Ltd. Ultra Events Ltd. organized the fatal boxing match at a nightclub in Worcester, northwest of London, on April 9, 2022. but ultimately responsible for it.
“I believe that as a director and sole owner of Ultra Events Ltd. have the power to take such actions,” Reid says in the report.
Chapman, 26, suffered a fatal head injury during one of the fights and died in hospital two days later.
His death was “the result of an accident,” the report said. However, the coroner said he had concerns about the training and composition of the fighters.
There was confusion over the maximum allowable weight differences between opponents and the timelines for developing skills such as headshots, the report said.
It said there was “no effective oversight to ensure that medical care for each individual event at each venue is based on an appropriate individual risk assessment.”
Reid encouraged Ultra Events Ltd. to require trainers to sign a declaration that they would follow a training plan.
In a response to the report in July, Ultra Events Ltd. promised: stricter records of weight differences between fighters; stricter rules for risk assessments; and event-specific medical plans.
The company also said some changes have already been made, including shorter rounds and stricter standing eight counts.
Chapman's father said he feels for Dousuah's family.
“I express my condolences to the family of this young man, who is the father of three children. I'm a father of three, you know. It must be a desperate situation for them,” John Chapman said.
He said his son had never been in a fight and had had relationship problems before he signed up.
He said he regrets not stopping his son from getting in the ring.
“When (my son) got to the hospital, the severity of his injury was obvious. No operation could be performed. He was on life support for 48 hours, and then he was allowed to die,” Chapman said.
Erik Magraken, a martial arts regulation lawyer in B.C., said the nature of MMA requires a long period of training.
“MMA is a difficult and dangerous sport and the skills required need to be built over more than just eight weeks in the gym before stepping into the cage,” he said.
Magraken said Alberta is the only province in Canada that does not have a regulating body for martial arts. “It’s the Wild Wild West in terms of the way these sports are regulated.”
An inquest report into the 2017 death of Edmonton boxer Tim Hague recommended that the province regulate combat sports events rather than have them run through a patchwork of commissions.
Alberta Sports Minister Joseph Schow recently announced a review to improve the safety of athletes in combat sports.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2024.
