Tragedy struck the mixed martial arts community back in April when 28-year-old Portuguese fighter Joao Carvalho died as a result of injuries sustained at a Total Extreme Fighting event in Dublin.
Carvalho was TKO’d in the third round of a bout with Charlie Ward, a teammate of UFC superstar Conor McGregor. Carvalho was taken to a local hospital after the fight and died two days later
In an interview in the September issue of Men’s Health, McGregor, who was cageside during the fight, opened up about the significant impact Carvalho’s death had on him.
“It’s [expletive] up,” McGregor said according to the Daily Mail. “I wasn’t just watching that fight. I helped train a guy to kill someone, and then someone wound up dying. This is a [expletive] dangerous game. People call it a sport, but it’s fighting. I’m just making sure it ain’t me. And that’s [expletive] up.
“I still can’t believe that kid is dead.”
McGregor released the following statement following the news of Carvalho’s death.
McGregor hasn’t fought since this experience. He returns to the cage on Aug. 20 in the main event of UFC 202 in a rematch with Nate Diaz.
