UFC heavyweight Shane del Rosario, 30, dies two weeks after cardiac arrest

Shane del Rosario has died, nearly two weeks after suffering a heart attack, the UFC announced Monday.

The 30-year-old Del Rosario, a professional MMA fighter since 2006, competed for UFC since 2012 after a run in the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion.

“The Ultimate Fighting Championship mourns the tragic loss of heavyweight competitor Shane Del Rosario, who has passed away at the age of 30,” the UFC said in a statement. “Del Rosario suffered a heart attack on Tuesday, Nov. 26 as a result of what doctors believe to a congenital heart disorder, according to his manager Jason House. The entire organization sends its deepest condolences to Shane’s family and friends.”

The UFC did not disclose the time of death. A representative from Hoag Memorial Presbyterian Hospital in Newport Beach, Calif., where Del Rosario was admitted after the heart attack, on Monday told MMAjunkie the hospital was not authorized to release information to the media about Del Rosario’s death.

The heavyweight fighter was rushed Hoag Memorial Presbyterian on Nov. 26. News of Del Rosario’s heart attack came as a shock to the MMA world when it was announced via Twitter by his management team on Nov. 27:

“Official Statement: Shane Del Rosario had a catastrophic cardiovascular collapse at home on Tuesday morning. He was brought to the hospital in full cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated in the emergency room back to a stable heart rhythm and blood pressure. He is currently in the coronary care unit critically ill. Our prayers are with him and his family.”

Del Rosario’s management team released a statement saying doctors were looking at the potential that the fighter had a rare heart condition known as Long QT Syndrome that typically goes undetected until there’s a problem.

Del Rosario (11-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) started his combat sports career in kickboxing and muay Thai before moving to MMA in 2006. He started his career 11-0 with 10 first-round stoppages. After going 8-0 with wins for M-1 Challenge and EliteXC, Del Rosario signed with Strikeforce and stopped Lolohea Mahe and Lavar Johnson in the first round.

He was booked for a fight against Daniel Cormier, but after being in a car accident, a herniated disc kept him out of the fight. He wouldn’t compete again until moving to the UFC, where he was stopped by Stipe Miocic in May 2012 and Pat Barry a year ago.

Del Rosario tried to return over the summer against Dave Herman, but was forced out with a rib injury. And in November, he was forced out of a fight against Guto Inocente (6-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) that had been booked for UFC 168 later this month in Las Vegas.

In 2012, MMAjunkie videographer Rick Lee produced and directed a video for Fight Magazine detailing Del Rosario’s road to recovery from the car accident, which was caused by a drunk driver. In the video, Del Rosario talked about his desire to give back to those who weren’t as fortunate as he was, and that despite the accident and, at the time, being uncertain if he would ever fight again, he considered himself lucky for all he had.

That video is below.

Updated on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013, with Hoag Memorial representative saying hospital not authorized to release del Rosario’s time of death.