Amateur MMA fighter dies following unregulated event in South Dakota

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC has never had a fighter suffer a serious injury outside of broken bones or ligament damage from their bouts, and have never had a competitor die from fighting in the Octagon. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the lowest dregs of the sport, with unregulated shows in both South Carolina and Texas seeing fighters pass away following fights.

Now, an amateur fighter in South Dakota has died following a bout at an unregulated show in the state, according to a report from the Rapid City Journal. However, this death may or may not have been caused by anything that happened in the fight itself.

26-year-old Dustin Jensen, fighting in his fifth amateur fight since starting in the sport a year ago, was submitted at a "RingWars" event on May 18 in what was described as a typical MMA fight, with no over the top violence or anything out of the ordinary.

Following the fight, he watched two more bouts before going into the locker room, where he was found after suffering a seizure. No medical personnel were on site, so an EMT was called and he was rushed to the hospital. At Rapid City Regional Hospital, it was determined he had increased pressure on his brain, and he was put into a medically induced coma to undergo surgery to relieve said pressure. Unfortunately, the surgery could not save Jensen's life.

"He did not wake up after the surgery and was declared brain dead at 10:23 a.m.," Jensen's mother-in-law, Violet Schieman, said. ?He remained on life support until his organs were donated."

"Doctors have watched the video and said it shouldn't have happened," she continued. "They said the fight may have triggered a brain aneurysm, but it was not overly violent."

The lack of a regulating body in South Dakota is a cause of concern for those participating in these events. Josh Usera, lead MMA trainer at Dynamic Martial Arts in Rapid City, commented on the necessity of regulation.

"In most states there is usually some kind of governing body, like the athletic commission or the boxing commission for that state, and what I understand is its job is to oversee the operations of the event from the ground all the way up," he said. "Safety of the fighter is the No. 1 concern, so most states that have some kind of governing body require some kind of blood work or something that shows the individual is healthy."

Penick's Analysis: This is why states like New York need to lift the ban on the sport and take it under regulation. There needs to be medical personnel on site for fighters, there needs to be oversight on their medical health before and after fights with blood tests, CT scans, MRIs for those that suffer knockout losses, etc. This death, while tragic, is far from an indictment of the sport. It's a freak thing that may have happened whether Jensen fought or not; aneurysm's can happen out of the blue, unfortunately. But it does raise the need to have regulation in place wherever the sport is going to be taking place.

Article updated as event was mistakenly listed as in Iowa. The event took place in South Dakota

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