Tragically, Iuri Lapicus, a 27-year-old Moldovan-Italian MMA fighter passed away in the hospital after spending three days in a coma due to a motorcycle accident. Fans and fellow fighters have paid tribute to him.
- The 27-year-old is said to have lost control of his motorbike on Friday
- After being airlifted to the Niguarda hospital, he later succumbed to his injuries
- Lapicus was one of only three Italian to compete at the top level of MMA
On Friday, Lapicus was reported to have crashed his motorcycle into the car of a 69-year-old woman in Pogliano Milanese, Italy. The circumstances leading to the accident are unclear but it appears that he had lost control of his bike.
When police and ambulance services arrived at the scene, they found the 27-year-old in a coma, having been thrown several meters by the force of the crash.
He was airlifted to the Niguarda hospital where he was attended to for three days but failed to recover.
The Moldovan-Italian fighter had taken part in 16 professional MMA fights, winning 14 of them in an unbroken run before conceding for the first time in 2020.
Four of these victories were by knockout, and the rest by submission, with 13 coming in the first round.
According to Corriere della Sera, Lapicus, alongside Marvin Vettori from UFC and Alessio Sakara from Bellator are the only three Italians to have ever fought in an international top-level promotion.
Tributes to the young fighter have already begun to pour in on Lapicus' Instagram profile, as well as dedicated posts by fellow fighters.
Former ONE Championship title challenger Iuri Lapicus has reportedly died in a motorcycle crash in Italy aged 27.
— Nicolas Atkin (@NicoSCMP) March 20, 2023
Tragic news, rest in peace Iuri pic.twitter.com/8dezQOirQC
Italian kickboxer Giorgio Petrosyan, who is said to have trained at the same gym as Lapicus, posted a photo of both of them with the caption in Italian reading: 'I want to remember you like this'.
Fans of the two fighters left words commemorating Lapicus in the comments.
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