Former UFC Fighter Elias Theodorou Passes Away at Age 34

Former UFC fighter Elias Theodorou has passed away at age 34 after battling stage 4 liver cancer, which he did not reveal publicly.

Elias won the ‘TUF: Nations’ middleweight tournament back in 2014 and was in the UFC until 2019.

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He fought in a total of 22 mixed martial arts bouts, including an 8-3 run in the UFC. He left the promotion in 2019, following a unanimous decision loss to Derek Brunson.

Elias was known for being an advocate for the use of medicinal marijuana in combat sports. “I want to use my platform to bring attention to what I’m doing. But, also bring attention to the current stigma that unfortunately surrounds cannabis,” Theodorou said to BJPENN in 2019 about why he wanted to get marijuana of USADA’s banned list.

“It is something that I can slowly remove. Obviously, the stigma still remains but one step at a time. If what I’m doing allows another athlete to get out of the shadows, then I am kind of doing what is the right thing. Not only for myself but for other athletes to educate themselves and that this is an option. Moreover, remove the fear that any type of punishment will happen for just talking about it,” Elias said.

Our deepest condolences to the Theodorou family, as well as their loved ones, at this time. RIP.