Amateur female kickboxer dies days after KO loss

[Misfit]

A 34-year-old Atlanta kickboxer died after she was knocked unconscious during an amateur tournament in Orlando over the weekend.


The Orange County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that Adrienne Simmons was participating in the International Kickboxing Match held at a hotel Sunday. During the final third round, she was hit with a left hook that knocked her unconscious.


The fight was stopped and a doctor tended to her. Eric Haycraft, the coach of Simmons' opponent Lindsay Scheer, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Simmons regained consciousness.
"We thought it was a normal KO," he said, according the Journal-Constitution. "When we go in the back, we saw things were worse. Locker rooms were sealed off. They made an announcement over the (public address) for the Marriott to call 911."


Heycraft told the newspaper that there was no ambulance on site and that's unusual for fight competitions. He said it took an hour for Simmons to get to the hospital.
Simmons was treated for two days before dying.


A sheriff's office spokeswoman says the death is considered an accident.
The tournament was sponsored by the International Kickboxing Federation.


http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/Female-kickboxer-dies-days-after-KO-loss-072910

[Misfit]

http://www.opposingviews.com/attachments/0007/3758/alg_adrienne_simmons.jpg?1280464751

Female Kickboxer Adrienne Simmons Dies After KO

Opinion by Alex Groberman (http://www.opposingviews.com/users/alex-groberman)
(3 Hours Ago) in Sports (http://www.opposingviews.com/topics/sports) / Boxing/MMA (http://www.opposingviews.com/topics/boxing-mma)
Fighter Adrienne Simmons died on Monday after being mismatched against a far superior opponent in the Muay Thai lightweight women’s final of the International Kickboxing Federation National Amateur Tournament in Orlando, Fla. She is reportedly the first woman to die from a kickboxing fight.
According to multiple reports, Simmons’ opponent, Lindsay Scheer, controlled the majority of the fight and forced the ref to issue multiple standing eight-counts. Despite being repeatedly knocked around and beaten, Simmons kept going into the third round where she was dropped by a left hook. The blow caused Simmons to lose consciousness, and she eventually slipped into a coma. On Monday it was announced she had died from the injuries.
Fans and officials on scene noted a doctor was on the premises, and this was later confirmed by both Scheer and her trainer, Eric Haycraft. According to Haycraft: “I've been a fighter, coach and trainer in this business for 20 years, and there is always an ambulance at every fight, professional or amateur."
Simmons’ boyfriend, Chike Lindsay-Ajudua, told officials it took over an hour for her to be driven to the hospital. This goes directly against the claim made by the federation’s president Steve Fossum. Fossum has gone on record saying he arranged for an ambulance from a nearby location to be on call for the event.
Many are questioning how and why Scheer and Simmons were pitted against one another in the first place. Scheer is a former Division I soccer player and a veteran of over 20 fights around the world. Simmons, on the other hand, came into the tournament with a 1-3 record and hardly any true fighting experience. Everything from the opening bell to Simmons’ untimely death points to the fact that she should have never been placed in the ring with Scheer.
Simmons is believed to be the first female kickboxer to die as a result of a fight. According to reports via the New York Daily News, her death was ruled an accident by the Orange County coroner.

[Misfit]

A woman kickboxer has died after being felled by a left hook to the face during an amateur tournament in Florida.
Adrienne Simmons, 34, was knocked out in the final round of a three-round bout in Orlando on Sunday.
The fight was stopped and ringside doctors treated Miss Simmons, who sat up and spoke to paramedics as she was helped to the dressing room.
But the Atlanta-based fighter collapsed soon after and was eventually airlifted to hospital where she died on Monday.


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/07/29/article-1298619-0A9C5BD5000005DC-1_468x582.jpg Fatal blow: Adrienne Simmons died after being felled by a punch to the head during a championship fight
She is thought to be the first women kickboxer to die following a fight.
Simmons' boyfriend yesterday claimed tournament organisers, International Kickboxing Federation, had failed to provide adequate medical facilities.
Chike Lindsay-Ajudua said there was no ambulance immediately available and it took almost 60 minutes to get Simmons to Orlando Medical Centre.
He told Atlanta's 11Alive.com: 'It took over half an hour after the incident for her to even be loaded onto a gurney for transport.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/07/29/article-1298619-0A9C6019000005DC-977_233x362.jpg Fighter: The 30-year-old is the first woman to be killed in the contact sport


'Transportation took another 20 minutes, which gave over an hour of time for the swelling of her brain to get to a point where there was little that doctors could do.
'The severity of this accident is a direct result of the proper precautions not being taken by the IKF.'

Simmons had been fighting Lindsay Scheer in a Muay Thai match, when she was knocked out.

The Thai form of kick-boxing allows fighters use feet, elbows, hands and knees to rain blows on their opponents although women have to wear headguards.

Miss Simmons had emergency surgery to relieve swelling on the brain but never recovered consciousness.
Her death has been ruled an accident by the Orange County coroner.
Speaking about the fatal blow, her trainer Eric Haycraft said: 'It really just seemed like a normal bout.

'It was a heavy shot but everyone involved had no reason to believe there was anything abnormal except a fighter getting their bell rung like we all have had at some point in our careers.'
On her Facebook page, Ms Scheer described her opponent as 'brave', and wrote that part of herself had died along with Ms Simmons.
'I have been inconsolable since that moment,' she wrote. 'I did not know what it really felt like to cry. I was and am broken.'


Steve Fossom, the president of the International Kickboxing Federation, could not be reached for comment.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1298619/Kickboxer-Adrienne-Simmons-killed-left-hook-championship-fight.html#ixzz0v9RJILS7

[Misfit]

The Crypt's thoughts are with her and her family.

[Rich Davie]

Wow... that's a shame.

Maybe it was some sort of blood clot in her brain, also known as an Ischaemic stroke.

Prayers for her and her family.

[KidKool_Aid]

Thats really sucks
Wow... that's a shame.

Maybe it was some sort of blood clot in her brain, also known as an Ischaemic stroke.

Prayers for her and her family.

[Dirty Daley]

every week there are thousands or kickboxing, boxing and mma events held and the number of deaths are real down. the story of this should be, be aware that your goal carries risks and the event had no ambulance to treat her right away,horrible!! before you start an event the first thing you do is make sure you have proper medical treatment.

[Discipline]

man that sucks. thoughts with the family and friends.

[John]

Very sad, I always hate hearing these stories (anything related to combat sports) because it does put things in perspective - nothings perfectly safe, no matter what one would like to believe. Thoughts ofcourse go out to loved ones, etc.

[Humblefan]

R.i.p

[Dirty Daley]

This aint no sport, this is battle and alot of people hear the word sport but this aint no matter what dana white tries saying. It's about who can harm who the most till they quit or time run's out. In 20 years we may not even have mma and kickboxing may even end up all amateur in the states and united kingdom. All i have to say is it's a shame it's her and not one of these hoodies who rob and shoot you for 5 buck's

[MadMike76]

Its crazy there was no ambulance at the event all the fights I have been in there was at least 2 with 2 doctors not to mention paramedics on site. Its a real shame I hate to hear it for any fighter and the familys invloved.

[KidKool_Aid]

so sad..prayers to her and her family

[KidKool_Aid]

That class brudda:)
The Crypt's thoughts are with her and her family.