Tyrone Mims (pictured right) was a 30-year-old amatuer mixed martial artist and father of five, participating in an event in South Carolina Saturday night when midway through the second round of his fight, officials called the match. According to Richard Seidlitz (In an apparently exclusive interview with ABC NEWS 4), who is producing a reality show featuring Mims, he looked to get suddenly "gassed," prompting the referee's intervention.
"The ref asked all the clarity questions to make sure the fighter was ok. He answered perfectly fine. He smiled, he said 'yeah I'm just tired, that's it.'"
Seidlitz says after they brought Mims out of the ring, his condition seemed to deteriorate. They called in the medics to look at him and then the doctor and then EMTs but Seidlitz says Mims just kept getting worse.
But no one seems to know why.
According to Seidlitz, he did not take any blows or suffer any injury that would result in the symptoms he exhibited. He was taken to the Medical University Hospital and later pronounced dead.
The event was apparently streaming online, however the feed was taken down and the rest of the event stopped. In all, approximately three of the 13 matches scheduled were completed.
According to the deputy coroner Dottie Lindsay, the cause of death is unknown but an autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
Image via Conflict MMA
Friends of MMA fighter Tyrone Mims come together for family [ABC News 4]
Coroner: MMA fighter died after Mount Pleasant bout [Post and Courier]