Iuri Lapicus dead at 27: MMA star dies after three-day coma following horror motorbike accident

Posted by Larita Shotwell on Sunday, August 11, 2024

AN MMA fighter has died following a motorcycle accident.

Moldovan-Italian fighter Iuri Lapicus passed away in hospital having spent three days in a coma following the incident on Friday.

The 27-year-old was airlifted to hospital in Milan on Friday before news of his death emerged on Monday.

Italian kickboxer Giorgio Petrosyan, who trained in the same gym as Lapicus, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, took to Instagram on Monday afternoon.

He uploaded pictures of Lapicus and captioned the post: "I want to remember you like this. RIP."

Lapicus reportedly trained in the same gym as Petrosyan.

He had joined promotion ONE Championship in 2019 and last fought in August 2022.

In the fight he was knocked out by Swedish fighter Zebaztian Kadestam.

Back in 2021 Lapicus took on Eddie Alvarez, who was beaten by Conor McGregor at UFC 205 in 2016.

Alvarez was initially disqualified from the fight against Lapicus for illegal strikes to the back of the head.

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However, the result was later overturned to a no contest.

In total Lapicus won 14 out of his 16 professional MMA fights.

MMA fans paid tribute to Lapicus in the comments section of Petrosyan's post.

Former Manchester City and Liverpool footballer Mario Balotelli left a heart emoji under Petrosyan's post.

Another user wrote: "RIP champion."

While a third added: "Rest in peace warrior."

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