Billy Corben appeared recently on Miami’s Zaslow Show radio program, and said that the fighter nearly died in the cage on Friday. Corben is the director of the “Dawg Fight” documentary that focused on Dada 5000’s backyard bareknuckle boxing promotional efforts. The fighter, whose real name is Dhafir Harris, reportedly suffered a heart attack after collapsing from what looked like fatigue in a fight with Kimbo Slice at Bellator 149 on Friday night, and was rushed to the hospital, where his family reports he was diagnosed with renal failure.
Harris lost nearly 40 pounds to make the 265 heavyweight limit, and process that apparently depleted him. Corben has been with Harris in the hospital nearly around the clock since. The director was asked if Harris almost died.
“Absolutely,” said Corben, as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting. “It might have been even worse than that.”
“He was dying. His body was shutting down during that fight, having nothing whatsoever to do with his fight training, but with his nutrition and dietary issues.”
“Even as his body was completely betraying him and shutting down, Dada’s fists never stopped trying to move toward Kimbo Slice. It was pretty remarkable, knowing what we know now what happened Friday night and the amount of heart and perseverance and not giving up that Dada displayed was nothing short of miraculous.”
Although Harris’s family referenced a hired nutritionist, Corben speculated that Harris cut improperly, and said his diet was mostly eggs and bananas, which led to high potassium levels. Corben believes that that, plus a lack of water, and the adrenaline surge that is an integral part of fighting, led to the renal failure.
Corben said Harris likely did not cut weight the right way. He said he had a diet of mostly eggs and bananas, which caused the high potassium levels. All of that plus a lack of water (because he didn’t want to put on water weight) and the adrenaline of the fight led to the renal failure, Corben believes.
Corben also described Harris’s recovery as “miraculous,” and said his nurses used a number of superlatives for his ability to bounce back, including “phenomenal.”
So it appears that Harris will recover.
Now the sport can address the deeper issues that led to the near tragedy, including a culture of extreme weight cutting, and a fanbase that responds well to “fun fights” like a main event that pitted Kimbo Slice vs. a guy whose two fights were against men with a combined record of 1-16. The lone win was a DQ for an illegal knee.
