ANDhe veteran of cfu, Elie Theodoroudied of stage 4 liver cancer at the age of 34.

The journalist from TSNAaron Bronsteter, shared the news Sunday evening on Twitter after receiving confirmation from a representative of Theodorou.

“Theodorou was privately battling stage 4 liver cancerand he had only told a select group of people about his diagnosis,” Bronsteter said of the mixed martial arts fighter.

The Canadian native won the tournament The Ultimate Fighter: Nations Middleweight Tournament versus Sheldon Westcott in 2014, and fought in a total of 22 MMA fights throughout his career, including 11 in the UFC from 2014 to 2019TSN reported.

Theodorou started his MMA career with 11 straight wins, reported Yahoo! Sports.

First to fight with a medical cannabis license

I last fought in December in a fight against Bryan Bakerwhere he became first professional athlete to compete in North America with a therapeutic use exemption for medical cannabis.

“Securing the Therapeutic Use Exemption was a years-long quest that he dedicated his time and resources to and his legacy to cannabis athletes will be felt for years to come,” Bronsteter tweeted.

In addition to his fighting career, Theodorou also participated in the third season of The Incredible Race Canada.

Bronsteter described Theodorou as “a great athlete with a wonderful sense of humor and a smile that would light up a room”.

“He will take off his shirt to help you”

St. Michael’s Churcha fellow wrestler from mmaI shared a video on Twitter after the announcement of the death of Theodorou.

Chiesa said he “instantly found a friend” when he met the fighter.

Chiesa said Theodorou was the “type of person who would take off his shirt to protect your back”, before sharing an anecdote of how that was literally true and showing off a sports jacket he said belonged to him. Theodorou.

Chiesa recalls a time when he was called in to give a last-minute press conference, but he didn’t have a shirt to wear. He said Theodorou wore a sports jacket at the time and I took it off and handed it to his friend.