Longtime MMA heavyweight MMA fighter Tim Hague died today from injuries suffered during a boxing match vs. former Edmonton Eskimos football player Adam Braidwood on Friday at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. Hague suffered a KO loss in the second round and was reportedly out for minutes. He came to and went back to the warm-up area on his own, but out of concern for his health, he was transported to the hospital. Tragically, he never recovered and passed away on Sunday at age 34.
The ghastly news came via the Facebook account of his sister, Jackie Neil.
“It is with incredible sadness, sorrow and heartbreak to report that Tim has passed away today,” she wrote. “He was surrounded by family, listening to his favourite songs. We will miss him with so greatly.”
Prior to the fight, Hague posted a video on his
Facebook account, that contrasted the relative skill set of the two competitors.
“I’ll fight anybody,” said Hague. “I’m one-and-two, Adam’s seven-and-one. He won a world title in his last fight. But I’m stepping up on a few weeks’ notice because he was mentioning he didn’t have an opponent.”
A 1-2 boxer vs. a 7-1 boxer coming off a successful title defense would seem on its face to be unacceptable matchmaking. If Hague was coming off an impressive run in MMA, that could be a factor in favor of the match. However, Hague lost four of his last five MMA fights, all by knockout. However, he was licensed to box in Alberta.
Hague began his fighting career going 9-1, which got him into the UFC, where he won his debut vs. Pat Barry. He then dropped the next three and was released, winning two more, only to return once more to the world’s dominant league, where he lost to Matt Mitrione. He did well outside the UFC going 8-4 and winning the Unified MMA heavyweight belt, having previously won and successfully defended the King of the Cage Canada heavyweight championship. However, he there after went just 1-4, before taking the boxing match this weekend.
Our heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to Hague’s friends, family, and loved ones, as well as to his opponent Adam Braidwood.
