MMA Fighter Joao Carvalho Dies Following Weekend Fight in Dublin

Portuguese welterweight Joao “Rafeiro” Carvalho has died after suffering a knockout loss at an MMA event in Dublin over the weekend.

Carvalho was stopped by Charlie Ward the third round of their fight at an April 9 event promoted by Irish organization Total Extreme Fighting. TEF on Tuesday issued a statement via Facebook describing the aftermath of Carvalho’s bout.

“Following the referee stoppage João, who was representing Portuguese club Team Nobrega, was assessed by doctors and medical staff at the onsite medical office as per normal procedure,” read the statement. “It was determined that he should be sent to hospital. In hospital he received emergency treatment and transferred to ICU later that evening.”

TEF stated that Carvalho passed away Monday night “after [two] days of the best medical care and treatment in Beaumont Hospital.”

Carvalho’s coach, Vitor Nobrega, also released a statement on Tuesday indicating that all standard safety requirements were met at the event. Nobrega stated that Carvalho began to “feel bad” approximately 20 minutes after the conclusion of his bout.

“He was assessed immediately by the on-site medical team, and then quickly transported to Beaumont Hospital, where he underwent brain surgery, after which the athlete remained in critical condition for the next 48 hours,” read Nobrega’s statement.

SevereMMA.com spoke with Katarzyna Michlic, the owner of Eventmed, the on-site medical staff which worked the event. According to Michlic, Carvalho was “walking, talking and smiling,” and “everything seemed perfectly fine” in the immediate aftermath of his bout.

Carvalho was 28 years old.