Veteran MMA fighter Eben Kaneshiro died of an apparent suicide Sunday in an Oregon jail, according to a report from KTVZ.com.
Kaneshiro, a native of Hawaii who owned Portland’s New Breed Jiu-Jitsu Academy, was arrested last week on charges of sexual abuse and sodomy on a boy under the age of 12. His gym was closed following his arrest, and its website is no longer accessible.
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Kaneshiro competed in 31 mixed martial arts bouts since 2002, compiling a record of 19-12. He was an early opponent of such notable fighters as Urijah Faber, Nam Phan and Evan Dunham, losing to all three. Kaneshiro last competed in November 2014 on a local fight card in Boise, Idaho, where he was stopped via second-round punches by Jesse Brock.