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UFC veteran Elisa Theorodou has died at age 36 after a battle with Stage 4 liver cancer.
Theodorou fought for the UFC first in 2014, fulfilling a lifelong dream of his. That fight was on The Ultimate Fighter: Nations middleweight tournament, which kicked off his career.
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Elias Theodorou of Canada reacts after his middleweight bout against Derek Brunson during the UFC Fight Night event at Canadian Tire Centre on May 4, 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
It was Canadian fighters against Australia, and Theodorou ended up beating Sheldon Westcott, a fellow Canadian in the final for the middleweight division. He signed his UFC contract after that.
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In December 2015, Thiago Santos was the first one to defeat Theodorou, who had 11 consecutive wins up to that point.
Elias Theodorou of Canada battles Derek Brunson in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Canadian Tire Centre on May 4, 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Overall, Theorodou went 8-3 in his UFC career before being released following a loss to Derek Brunson, another middleweight contender.
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Theorodou last fought on the regional circuit in 2021, beating Bryan Baker in December in Colorado. That pushed his overall record to 19-3, as he dominated that circuit. Heading back to UFC might have been in the cards had he not gotten sick.
Elias Theodorou of Canada poses on the scale during the UFC Fight Night weigh-in at Andaz Ottawa Byward Market on May 3, 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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Theorodou kept his illness a secret, according to TSN. He only told a few close friends.
Theorodou also worked as a stuntman, actor and producer while he wasn’t in the octagon. He was also an advocate for the use of medical marijuana in combat sports. He was the first fighter in Canadian and American sports to receive an exemption for medical cannabis for therapeutic use in 2020, which was granted by the British Columbia Athletic Commission. Theodorou was 31 at the time.
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