Everyone in the fight game was rocked by the death of UFC veteran Tim Hague after he was knocked out in a boxing match on Friday in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Hague was knocked out by Adam Braidwood in the second round after being knocked down several times. As he fell to the ground, Hague’s head violently bounced off the canvas. He regained consciousness and was transported to a hospital after being evaluated backstage. He was placed in the intensive care unit and underwent surgery to relieve pressure surrounding his brain. On Saturday, it was reported that the Alberta native was on life support and brain dead. On Sunday, Hague’s sister, Jackie Neil, confirmed her brother’s death.
It’s an all-too-real scenario that can and did play out in Canada, one that sits in the back of a fighters’ minds all the time.
Many of us chuckle when we hear fighters jawwing back and forth only to proclaim, “This isn’t a game.” It is a sport, but it really can be much more than a game, as Hague’s death resoundingly confirms.
Kevin Lee, who faces Michael Chiesa at UFC Fight Night in Oklahoma City on Sunday, admits that he takes the “fight game” very seriously because, unlike other sports, it’s not simply a game. An athlete’s life is potentially on the line any time they step in a cage or a ring.
Ahead of his fight with Chiesa, Lee talked to MMAWeekly.com about Hague’s death, how he approaches such possibilities in his own career, and his outlook on life, knowing he puts everything at risk when he fights.
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