Conor McGregor Reacts To Tragic Death Of MMA Fighter Joao Carvalho

If you’ve been keeping up with the mixed martial arts headlines this week, you’ll know that tragedy struck in Dublin, Ireland. It was a TEF fight card in the Dublin National Arena, and UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s team mate Charlie Ward was fighting for his third time.

Ward faced a tough Portuguese fighter by the name of Joao Carvalho. Fighting out of Team Nobrega, ‘Rafeiro’ came in to the Dublin cage with a reputation of being a tough guy. As the fight got in to the third round, Ward rocked Carvalho with some big shots, and the referee eventually stopped the fight.

The fight video:

The brutal loss put Carvalho in critical condition in the Beaumont hospital, where he remained for 48 hours. McGregor implied in a post fight interview that the referee should have probably stopped the fight sooner.
“My teammate Charlie had a good win just there – hell of a fight. Yer man took some big shots(sic). Thought it could have been stopped a little earlier. I feel these referee’s need to be on the ball a little bit,”

The terrible news broke yesterday that Carvalho had passed away from his injuries, and the MMA world was in mourning. The loss of a fighter is a harsh and difficult to accept reality of combat sports.

The death of Carvalho can hopefully be used to enhance the safety of fighters in the future, but especially in Ireland where the sport is still relatively young.

After the saddening news of Joao Carvalho’s death, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor spoke out on his Facebook page.

Check it out:

McGregor’s words will likely come as little comfort to the family who has lost Joao Carvalho, but he makes a solid point in his previous comments. The referee could have been a bit quicker with the stoppage, as it was clear that Carvalho was hurt long before the eventual end to the fight.