By Jesse Holland
By now most have us have come to recognize (and ultimately accept) the unfortunate passing of mixed martial arts competitor Sam Vasquez.
Vasquez, 35, died last Friday from complications stemming from head trauma suffered at the hands of opponent Vince Libardi at Renegades Extreme Fighting back on October 20th.
Despite two surgeries and prompt medical care, Vasquez was unable to recover after being knocked out in the third round. He was admitted to St. Joseph Medical Center and eventually transferred to an area hospice on November 26th.
Vasquez is survived by his wife Sandra and a seven-year old son.
It’s been difficult for me to try and find a way to examine his death without it turning into a eulogy. While surely heartfelt, it would be disingenuous and maladministered.
In fairness to Sam, I would have never heard of him if not for his death on November 30th. And when I did hear, I waited anxiously for the anti-MMA crusaders to release their hounds.
They never came.
No public outcry, no villagers with pitchforks and torches laying waste to Dana’s castle, nary a blurb save for the occasional sound byte on Fox News or quick write-up on MSNBC.
With predators like Bill O’Reilly constantly cruising the surf, such little attention struck me as an opportunity lost.
Let’s face it, having zero fatalities in mixed martial arts has always been our ace in the hole. When detractors gave us brutality on the turn, we answered with death-proof on the river.
No longer.
Does the death of Sam Vasquez weaken the argument for fighter safety? Does it damage the credibility of MMA sanctioning? Maybe yes, maybe no.
Like the murky waters that have clouded the Douglas Dedge tragedy, the death of Sam Vasquez has offered little in terms of closure for his family and his sport.
Vasquez suffered two massive brain clots while hospitalized, both requiring major surgery. Yet the first clot was not a result of his fight with Libardi according to wife Sandra.
If accurate (and coming from his wife we should assume that it is) it raises very serious questions about the pre-fight health of Sam Vasquez and his ability to compete.
An initial investigation reveals that Vasquez, as well as veteran promoter Saul Soliz, had completed the necessary licensing requirements required to participate and that on the surface, everything was done by the book.
It may not be unreasonable to think that Vasquez may have answered “no” on a medical questionnaire when deep down inside he knew the answer was “yes”.
It may also not be unreasonable to think that a perfectly healthy fighter can be killed by competing in a sport that is essentially a form of controlled violence.
Which side of the fence you’re on all depends on your opinion of mixed martial arts as a sport.
In the coming weeks the tragedy of Sam Vasquez will start to fade away. So too will the significance of his passing.
And it is significant. It marks a new era in mixed martial arts by casting a shadow of mortality over the fighters and events.
Will we remember that mortality at UFC 79 as we stand and cheer during Silva vs. Liddell? Will any of the drunken misfits feel the pain and guilt of Vince Libardi as they scream for a knockout at countless live events?
I wonder how things might have been different had it happened to a high-profile fighter like Rich Franklin. At the end of round one against Anderson Silva at UFC 77, Franklin was walking like a newborn calf, yet continued to take punishment by answering the bell for round two.
Perhaps such a scenario, coupled with the less-than-conclusive facts in the Vasquez tragedy is what’s keeping the mainstream media at bay.
They may just be biding their time.
As a both a fan and a writer of mixed martial arts, I have that constant subjective/objective battle within myself when it comes to watching fights. It was always hard for me to watch gruesome endings like McFedries/Radev at Fight Night 10. Having Sam Vasquez in the back of my mind will now make it even harder.
I don’t think there is anything positive that can come from a fatality in our sport unless it becomes the catalyst for a much-needed change or a call to action. Whether or not that happens in the case of Vasquez remains to be seen.
While I don’t know anything about Sam Vasquez the man, I do know something about Sam Vasquez the fighter. I know he was 35. I know he was a husband and a father. I also know it was just his third fight under a smaller promotion. Combining those facts tells me that he probably wasn’t fighting to attain Fedor’s money or Liddell’s fame, but because he loved to fight.
Sam Vasquez died doing what he loved.
Maybe I do know something about Sam Vasquez the man after all.
37 Comments »
very sad news…hope his family will be okay in this time of their lives….but i agree with you that it’s going to be hard to watch end of fights now i mean thats something No one ever thought of because i felt that this sport is actually extremely safe and protects fighters well…maybe some rules can be changed for extra protection where no matter what referee’s can jump in quicker but who knows whats logical now..
Prayers and thoughts go to his family. He will be loved and miss.
Our prayers go out to his family and friends.
At the very least, he died doing something he loved, the best way to go in my opinion.
Hopefully it will be found out though that there was something skipped over or something not done by the book in teh pre figt preperation. I would hate to think something got buy a regulated legitamized promotion, and lead to such a tradgedy.
Anyone interested in contributing to the memorial fund that will help his wife and son may use this address:
TEXAS MMA FIGHT SHOP
c/o Sandra Vasquez
5720 Mobud Drive
San Antonio, Texas 78238
There is no such thing as too small a donation. Every dollar counts. You can make check or money order payable to Sandra Vasquez.
You can see his picture and read more about what happened at this site.
http://mmatakedown.blogspot.com/2007/12/mma-fighter-sam-vasquez-dies-weeks.html
Vasquez had been battling for his life since taking a hard right to the chin from 21-year old Vince Libardi on Oct. 20 during a Renegades Extreme Fighting show at the Toyota Center in Houston. The blow knocked Vasquez out and he was rushed to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he stayed until moving to hospice care on Monday.
The 35-year-old Vasquez was competing in the featherweight division (145 pound weight class) in the third match of a 12-match card promoted by Saul Soliz, the longtime boxing coach of Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Tito Ortiz. The show was overseen by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Calls to the department on Sunday were not immediately returned.
After taking a flurry of punches from Libardi, Vasquez collapsed in the ring and the fight was waved off at 2:50 of the third round. Emergency medical technicians worked on him in the ring for several minutes until he suffered what appeared to be a seizure and was rushed to the hospital
I donated a small amount I hope others donate as well.
I luv MMA, I have often been amazed a tragic death did not happen sooner… especially in GnP mode when a fighter is out cold and defenseless but still takes several unecessary bonebreaking shots to the head with no give in the canvas before the Referee has time to jump in and stop it, some fighters need to monitor themselves, it is obvious a man is out cold, why the extra life threatening punches? I don’t know how to solve that problem, but I wish someone would.
Even though it’s a small piece you have written J Holland.. it may be one of your best.
I saw this news a couple days ago as well and was surprised not to hear anything anywhere.
Puts a harsh light on the Babalau choke as well. I think you will see news fly around if something like that happens again.
r.i.p sam
Its sad to say but its bound to happen. People die each year playing golf, swimming and boxing. There is always a first and I am surprised there hasnt been a few more incidents.
I dont think this incident will change much of opinion on the sport we love. People live to experience the thrill of life no matter what form it takes. MMA, Marine & Teacher are all occupations that have risks… Being in MMA is no doubt the least dangerous of the 3 jobs.
Family and friends of Sam will mourn his absence but will move on and continue their lives knowing he has somehow touched them in positive ways and made them better people for knowing him.
Wow, RIP Sam.
What where the fight conditions like at this event? Sanctioned? Indian Reserve? Ref?
RIP
I had the honor of attending this event live in Houston TX. It was the same night that Rich Franklin lost to Anderson Silva doing his dance. I can tell you the event was sanctioned, it was my first live MMA event and I would not trade it for the world. Tickets to the event were only 5 dollars and it had 15 fights on the card. I will keep that Renegade fight schedule with his picture in it for all time as an honor to him.
I’ve been waiting for this thread for a few days..I thought this would of been blown out the water by the media any critics by now..my prays are with his family and loved ones. I never heard of Sam Vasquez before his death, but I know of him now. With no wrongful doing on a sanctioned event to have surfaced, if there was or wasn’t a pre existing condition or not we should find out soon. This will not over shadow MMA..with everyday up and coming fighters and great fights. The sport will grow as it should. There about 500 deaths connected to boxing since the 1800’s.,Dale Earnheart Sr. in racing. All tragic, but that’s part of life.
[quote comment=”226460″]Wow, RIP Sam.
What where the fight conditions like at this event? Sanctioned? Indian Reserve? Ref?[/quote]
Did you read the article?? Yeah everything was found “done by the book” pre fight medical exam, he was attended to immediately after he was ko’ed etc. and the fight was sanctioned. It was all in the article. obviously you didn’t read it.
RIP Sam, My Prayers to your family and friends
Thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Sam. Nice work Holland.
Damn!! The day we hoped would NEVER come!
R.I.P. Bro!!
And my thoughts go out to his opponent who must be feeling really bad too!
Very nice article.
It was bound to happen. I hope this doesn’t lead to a desire for rules changes in the UFC and the unified rules. The fighters are protected pretty well, but deaths are bound to happen considering the nature of the beast.
[quote comment=”226295″]I donated a small amount I hope others donate as well.[/quote]
i just wrote down the adress i think all of us as mma fans should donate $ to the family, it would help the sport if we are a part of the good and bad times in MMA. this death is soomething that was bound to happen sonner or later but hopefully 1 death in 15 years isnt acceptable and somehow we can make a longer run without any fatalities. viva le MMA!!!
Nice job Jesse. Kind of hard to wrap your arms around something like this. It’s a horrible tragedy. One that hopefully helps the sport grow rather than hinder it. Thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and kids. Even as a family man I can’t imagine how difficult this must be.
VERY well said!
Nice job on reporting a difficult topic… well handled mania.
[quote comment=”226290″]You can see his picture and read more about what happened at this site.
http://mmatakedown.blogspot.com/2007/12/mma-fighter-sam-vasquez-dies-weeks.html
Vasquez had been battling for his life since taking a hard right to the chin from 21-year old Vince Libardi on Oct. 20 during a Renegades Extreme Fighting show at the Toyota Center in Houston. The blow knocked Vasquez out and he was rushed to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he stayed until moving to hospice care on Monday.
The 35-year-old Vasquez was competing in the featherweight division (145 pound weight class) in the third match of a 12-match card promoted by Saul Soliz, the longtime boxing coach of Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Tito Ortiz. The show was overseen by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Calls to the department on Sunday were not immediately returned.
After taking a flurry of punches from Libardi, Vasquez collapsed in the ring and the fight was waved off at 2:50 of the third round. Emergency medical technicians worked on him in the ring for several minutes until he suffered what appeared to be a seizure and was rushed to the hospital[/quote]
when ever it says he colapsed to the ring .. was it from a hit or just he got ko..it does not matter .. RIP
terrible tragedy.
any word on the fighter Vince Libardi? i wonder if he will come out and do an interview to give his perspective on the situation.
My orayers will go to Sam’s family and friends, but also to Libardi. I cant imagin how he must feel right now. Great article.
nice article
RIP SAM VASQUEZ
Jesse really out did himself on this one. Very sincere and well thought out. I hope this is the last untimely death we see for a while and that MMA won’t unjustly be critized for this. I’ve actually known 2 healthy people who unexpectly diedover, one playing basketball(22 years old) and one an avid runner who had a heart attack while out jogging(46 years), so you can’t pin point blame on one particular thing since we all have an eventual appointment with the reaper.
I live in houston where the fight took place and am very familiar with the renegade promotion. I’ve been to thier events and im 99% sure everything was done by the book, its just unfortunate this happened. Also im familiar with Saul Solis the promoter of Renegades my best friend trains at his gym and he truly loves the sport and is going through a difficult time since this happenned.
My prayers go out to his family and Sam Vasquez(R.I.P). I have donated money to his fund and all of us who call ourselfs true mma fans should aswell. Christmas is just around the corner and his family is going to need all the help they can get, anything will help.
He was part of the MMA family so lets pay our respects. Long Live MMA!
God Bless Sandra and their little boy. I am donating some $, I hope lots and lots of people do. I hope that the family is taken care of financially and emotionally during this difficult time. I am sad.
No one ripped into MMA for this because there’s nothing to gain from it, and everything to lose. Not even Bill O’Reilly is stupid enough to criticize the sport when Fox Sports is showing IFL stuff all the time. And as for the politicians, they realize that the sport has enough of a mainstream fan base that any criticism would yield legitimate debate on the matter–MMA is no longer a toothless punching bag that moralists can rally against without fear of alternate perspectives shedding some light on the matter. It isn’t an easy enough target for an “obvious evil” for politicians to find any interest in attacking it.
MMA is safe and sound. Let’s just be thankful the first death didn’t occur on the first season of TUF. That might have been a problem.
I add my prayers with all the others for Sam’s family, but also for Vince Libardi & his family as well. I can only imagine how he must feel right now.
Nicely put, but now i see why you gave away some poker chips with that last bit. “Let’s face it, having zero fatalities in mixed martial arts has always been our ace in the hole. When detractors gave us brutality on the turn, we answered with death-proof on the river.
No longer.”
I bet Nice Duce like’s these type of poetic comparisons.
Holdem Player Haters UNITE!
(sorry if i made light of the deceased)
this is just a very sad situation, someone lost there life in the cage (entertaining us) so its a very hard hit to take. i think its very awesome that the fans who have never heard of the guy (myself included) are showing so much compassion. alot of times we bicker and disagree on everthing, but i commend all of you for your concern. everyone with myspace should put up this info asking for donations, maybe hit some other mma pages and see how far we can stretch this guys.
myspace.com/ghastlygah
This sad incident should remind us all of the dangers inherent to combat sports. These are courageous, highly trained, athletes with incredible mental and physical toughness. They deserve our respect. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Vasquez family.
sam is my cousin!
he will always be a champion
i miss you sammy
I’ve trained with Vince. He’s honestly a good guy. I think this has his hit him really hard. He doesn’t show it, but I can tell it bothers him. He hasn’t fought in a while and is becoming a police officer now. I think thats his way of trying to make things right. He didn’t mean to kill him, but he regrets it…alot. After Mr. Vasquez’s death, Vince held back alot in the gym. He didn’t even hit me. I hate to say this…but its the chance we all take. You or I, could die walking down the street or driving a car. Every fighter knows the risk(s). involved. Its just very…unfortunate that this happened. I hope they do a much, much more extensive testing of individuals before they allow them to fight. God bless the Vasquez family, and I hope this brings all closer to one another, and ultimately to…God.