MMA Fighter Dies In Sauna While Attempting To Lose Weight For A Fight

Youtube Screen GrabA Brazilian MMA fighter died on Thursday while trying to make weight for his upcoming fight in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

The 26-year old Leandro "Feijao" Souza passed out moments before the official weigh-ins for the Shooto 43 fight card, according to MMAfighting.com

MMA fighters are often known for cutting weight by shedding water right before fights through dehydration tactics.

After the fight they refuel themselves back to their normal weight, which can be 10, 20, or even 30 pounds above the fight weight limit.

Souza fought at the flyweight division, which is the smallest weight division in MMA. The required weight limit is 125 pounds. Authorities have not confirmed the cause of his death yet but his trainer Andre Santos told mmafighting.com that his death is linked to the weight cut:

"We don't have much information yet but we do know that is related to his weight cut...His sister called me saying that he had passed out so I went to the hospital, but he was already dead when I got there".

According to Santos, Souza was attempting to take the fight on short notice and needed to lose 33 pounds in one week. Not only that, he still had 11 pounds to lose in the last 24 hours right before the weigh-ins. Souza was two pounds short of the weight limit when they found him dead inside a sauna.