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Christian Lubenga, age 27, who trained in New Haven County at the Black Wolf MMA, a gym in Orange, died on Monday, March 14, two days after the fight that was on Saturday, March 12, at AMMO 10 located in Hampden County in West Springfield, Massachusetts, according to the New England Mixed Martial Arts.
According to a blog post from the organization, "the ending of the fight didn't seem very violent, and there is no word on what caused Lubenga's death, but regardless of what was the attributing factor in his passing, it's a tragedy for his family, friends, coaches, teammates, and our MMA community as a whole."
Lubenga was matched against another first-tie fighter, Cody McCracken, at the Eastern States Exposition, MassLive reported.
The fight was part of the “Battle of St. Patrick’s” event, MassLive said.
The popular fighter was transported to an area hospital after the fight because he said he wasn’t feeling well, according to the West Springfield police.
Black Wolf MMA said on Facebook that Lubenga was part of their family: "Christian wasn’t just any student," they wrote. "Christian was the kind of human who brought life and light into any room he walked into."
They went on to say that Lubenga was a true fighter: "Christian was a true martial artist in every aspect of the word and a true warrior."
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