Family, friends remember Tim Hague
Tim Hague sister: “He would retire and then two weeks later make a triumphant comeback. … No one saw this coming, but yet we all saw it coming.”
Over 600 of Tim Hague’s friends, family, and fellow fighters attended a memorial service on Monday in his hometown of Boyle, Alberta (pop. 880). The MMA fighter passed away on June 18 at age 34, from injuries suffered during a boxing match vs. Adam Braidwood in Edmonton on the 16th.
The 6′ 4″ 270-pound fighter was remembered as a dedicated father, devoted friend, caring elementary school teacher, and gentle giant. He fought from Las Vegas to Sochi, Russia, from cages in bars to the UFC Octagon. A third-party investigation is underway to determine if the fight ever should have been made, and if it should have been stopped earlier. But his older sister Jack Neil said he died doing what he loved.
We just wish it wasn’t this soon,” she said, as recorded by David Staples for the Edmonton Sun. “He has made us all so profoundly sad, but so profoundly proud of him.
Neil remembered her gigantic little brother winning his first UFC fight, tapping Pat Barry in the first.
The video of him winning after that fight still gives me goose bumps, she said. He was so happy. He had achieved a dream.
In the last year or so, we knew it was time for Tim to stop. And I think Tim knew, too, but he just couldn’t stop. He would retire and then two weeks later make a triumphant comeback. He just loved it too much. He loved the crowds, he loved the people and he loved putting on a good show.
No one saw this coming, but yet we all saw it coming.
Hague’s friend and roommate Aaron Teed remembered Tim’s great relationship with his 9-year-old son Brady.
He was a great dad,” said Teed, as recorded by Meredith MacLeod for CTVNews. “Wherever he went Brady went. They were best friends. With his students he had a great relationship with them. He really enjoyed it.
I’m hoping that more attention is taken at taking a look before and after fights and how it’s affecting the brain. There’s things in that area that definitely need to be looked at.
Hague had been 1-4 in the last two years in MMA, with all four losses coming via KO or TKO. During that period he also had three boxing matches, losing the first via decision, the second via TKO, and the third via a KO that proved to be fatal.
The GoFundMe for Hague, which will help care for his son, just broke the $50,000 mark.
