UFC Fighter Elias Theodorou Dead at 34 After Private Cancer Battle

The Canadian mixed martial artist, who was an advocate for the use of medical marijuana, passed away on September 11 after battling liver cancer which was only known by a select people close to him.

AceShowbizElias Theodorou‘s fight for his life is sadly over now. The former UFC fighter passed away on Sunday, September 11 after a private battle with liver cancer, his representative has confirmed. He was only 34 years old.

Theodorou’s rep shared the sad news to a TSN broadcaster. Relaying the news, Aaron Bronsteter of The Sports Network in Canada tweeted, “Sadly, a representative of Elias Theodorou has confirmed earlier reports that he has passed away at age 34. Theodorou was privately battling Stage 4 liver cancer and had only told a select group of people of his diagnosis.”

Theodorou began his MMA career in 2011 with 11 consecutive victories before making a decision to face Thiago Santos on December 10, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 80 in Las Vegas. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. He went 8-3 in the UFC and was released after dropping a decision to middleweight contender Derek Brunson, which he lost again.

The Canadian mixed martial artist last fought in December 2021 against Bryan Baker at Colorado Combat Club 10, where he won by unanimous decision, raising his record to 19-3. An advocate for the use of medical marijuana in combat sports, he “was very proud of becoming the first professional athlete of all-time to compete with a Therapeutic Use Exemption for Medical Cannabis in North America (first in Canada and then in the U.S.),” Bronsteter noted.

Theodorou was known for his long hair and rugged good looks. He never took himself too seriously and served as a “ring boy” for the all-female Invicta Fighting Championship. After news of his passing spread, MMA star Michael Chiesa remembered him as “the type of guy who’d give you the shirt off his back” in a video posted on Twitter.

“I was telling him this and he was wearing [this sports jacket], with a T-shirt,” Chiesa said while holding a folded gray jacket that Theodorou gave to him. “He took his jacket off and gave it to me. I never got a chance to give it back to him. That’s the type of guy he was. While I’m sad like a lot of people, he touched a lot of lives and I have to remember I’m very blessed that I had the friendship I had with him.”

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