ThePainFactory

Regulated mixed martial arts has experienced its first casualty.

Sam Vasquez, who was stopped by Vince Libardi on Oct. 20 at the Toyota Center in Houston, died Friday at the age of 35, according to a report by TheFightNetwork.com.

The Harris County Medical Examiner, which confirmed Vasquez passed at 8:15 p.m. CT, has not yet released the cause of death, the report said.

After enduring separate surgeries to remove blood clots from his brain as well as a massive stroke, Vasquez was discharged from downtown Houston's Saint Joseph Medical Center Critical Care Unit and transferred to an area hospice on Nov. 26.

On Wednesday Sandra Vasquez, the fighter's wife, told Sherdog.com, "He's about to go." Two days later, Vasquez, the father of a 7-year-old boy, lost his battle with the apparent affects of a regulated mixed martial arts fight.

Vasquez joins Douglas Dedge as the second known fighter to lose his or her life due to complications stemming from a MMA bout. Following an unregulated contest in the Ukraine on March 16, 1998, Dedge collapsed and died.

Vasquez, who was licensed to compete by the Texas Boxing and Wrestling Program, took rapid combinations and a hard right punch to the chin from Libardi (4-3) in the third round.

In his third professional fight -- each of which were promoted by Saul Soliz, a veteran trainer who has worked with several UFC champions and a host of local Texas fighters, including the fallen Vasquez -- the referee allowed Vasquez (1-2) to stand after he was dropped. When the fighter subsequently collapsed the bout was called.

Repeated attempts to reach Soliz for comment went unreturned.

Eight minutes elapsed while Texas-mandated EMTs attended to the incapacitated Vasquez, who was eventually placed onto a stretcher and supported with a neck brace. His exit from the arena to Saint Joseph Medical Center was marked with a slight, occasional seizure visible to the cage-side audience.

Vasquez's hospital stay was first complicated by what doctors called a large "acute clot" that formed within the brain and required surgery on Nov. 4 to relieve pressure. The first clot was not a result of the initial injury Vasquez suffered, said his wife, Sandra. A "rare" second clot developed soon afterwards, said Vasquez's doctor, demanding another invasive procedure.

Listed in critical condition, the fighter was placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a stroke on Nov. 9 that prompted Vasquez's family to contact LifeGift, an organ donation center.

Like in the case of Dedge, concerns about Vasquez's pre-fight health have surfaced. At his age, Vasquez would have been required to undergo extensive pre-fight medical screening to gain a license in Texas.

Steve Bruno, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, said federal laws prohibit his agency from disclosing particular information regarding a fighter's application.

Prior to Vasquez's death, Bruno said the state has no plans for any sort of moratorium on mixed martial arts competition.

Sam Vasquez Released From Hospital - MMA Changed Forever?

Texas independent mixed martial artist Sam Vasquez was recently discharged from the hospital that fought nearly a month to save his life after collapsing during a match. From the moment Vasquez was admitted with reports of seizures, to the heart wrenching admission from his wife that following multiple surgeries to remove blood clots in his brain, his organs were being considered for donation, the MMA community has stood in a surreal world of reality. Many considered Sam Vasquez as the turning point in MMA–the romantic story of a violent sport with zero deaths was about to come crashing down as soon as he was taken off life support. Obviously the result of this tragedy and its bearing on MMA should not be of primary concern, with Vasquez and his family’s well being taking center stage, however, as fans of this relatively young sport, its hard not to feel the potential repercussions looming.

Well our fears have been put to the wayside…for now. Vasquez had a condition that was not the result of his fight that fateful night a month ago, and the Texas athletic commission appears to not be interested in leading an investigation into the cause and effect this incident has on the sport.

For now, the sport is safe from scrutiny, the haters still have no leg to stand on, boxing and football are factually much more dangerous, and our most treasure commodity, the fighters, have not lost one of their own. However, this can be seen as the beginning of our loss of innocence. Not the beginning of the end, but a beginning to the realization of reality, and how we as athletes and fans, must respond.