Fatal MMA fight in Aiken almost did not happen
Depending on your perspective, fate did everything to separate or bring together Carlos Iraburo and Michael Kirkham.
Both were amateur mixed martial arts fighters making their professional debuts June 26 at USC Aiken’s Confrontation at the Convocation.
The match quickly ended as Kirkham lay unconscious with head injuries that ultimately would be fatal, but the fight between the two almost didn’t happen.
Kirkham almost didn’t make it from Gaston, S.C., to Aiken in time for the initial weigh-in. After several canceled flights and a vehicle breakdown, Kirkham managed to get a ride and make it to the fight..
Kirkham was not scheduled to be Iraburo’s opponent. Three others dropped out because of injuries, and Kirkham filled the vacancy.
The first meeting between Iraburo and Kirkham was at a hotel for pre-fight publicity photos. Iraburo said Kirkham approached him and struck up a conversation about their tattoos.
“You could see in his eyes that he was a good guy,” Iraburo said.
Within seconds of the match’s start the two were grappling on the mat. With Kirkham pinned beneath him, “I pushed his head down and just began punching,” Iraburo said.
Within seconds the referee broke up the fight, and Iraburo said he climbed off Kirkham and waited for his opponent to stand up, too.
But Kirkham lay there, his eyes half open, his breathing slow.
As medics swarmed over the fallen Kirkham, Iraburo said he had a bad feeling.
“I got really emotional and thought, ‘What have I done?’ ” Iraburo said.
He went home that night to his wife and two children still worried about Kirkham. He tried calling the hospital in Aiken, but no one would give him any information.
When he read online the news of Kirkham’s death, “it was overwhelming,” Iraburo said.
“I have to admit, it’s not an easy feeling. I’m going to be messed up inside for a while.”
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MMA proponents know death could hurt sport
What Michael Kirkham’s death could mean for the future of mixed-martial arts events in South Carolina is unclear.
The sport’s proponents, who have rallied to the aid of Kirkham’s family, know his death could damage the sport in a state that has held sanctioned fights for less than a year.
“There is some concern that could happen, but I really hope not,” said Mark Greubel, who operates Greubel’s MMA off River Watch Parkway.
The state’s athletic commission has begun an internal investigation into the June 26 fight that ultimately killed Kirkham but has not released further information. Kirkham died Monday at Aiken Regional Medical Centers.
TJ Kirkham said potentially banning the sport in his brother’s name “would be like losing him all over again.”
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Fighter killed in Aiken towered in stature, ambition
Michael Kirkham was a tall man with big dreams.
His towering height of 6 feet, 9 inches earned him the nickname “Tree” and gave him a natural advantage as a painter at construction sites.
His ambition, however, was to wield his stature as a professional fighter in the rough-and-tumble arena of mixed martial arts.
“He always wanted his name known worldwide,” his brother TJ Kirkham said.
Michael Kirkham, 30, achieved a measure of fame Saturday at an unexpected and devastating cost.
After two years of struggling to make a name in MMA, he finally landed his first professional fight at the University of South Carolina Aiken’s Confrontation at the Convocation.
His opponent was Carlos Iraburo, another lightweight with a 4-0 amateur record who also had decided to launch his professional career.
About a minute into the fight, Iraburo was straddling Kirkham on the mat and punching him in the face. The referee called him off after a few seconds, and Iraburo said he immediately stopped and stood up. Kirkham lay there not moving, his eyes half open, taking slow, deep breaths, Iraburo said.
Medics rushed into the ring to stabilize Kirkham, who was taken to nearby Aiken Regional Medical Centers. He never regained consciousness and died Monday of bleeding on the brain, the Aiken County coroner said.
Kirkham’s death set the Internet ablaze with rumor and speculation, because it apparently was only the second fatality related to MMA fighting in the United States.
Critics of MMA were quick to pounce on the death as proof of what they perceive as the unleashed brutality of cage fighting. Bloggers and Web site commentators speculated on everything from Kirkham’s weight — 155 pounds — to his record.
The sudden publicity and harsh judgment only exacerbated the grief for Kirkham’s family. His brother spoke with The Augusta Chronicle to set the record straight and show the world who Michael was outside the ring.
Before fighting, training and playing guitar, Kirkham’s No. 1 priority was his family.
“His most prized possession was his kids,” TJ Kirkham said.
His journey toward professional MMA fighting started two years ago. He had limited access to a gym or a coach, but his family knew that wouldn’t stop him.
Instead of treadmills and barbells, Kirkham jogged dusty roads and lifted cinder blocks.
He watched hours of MMA fighting, then applied what he saw in skirmishes with his brother and other wrestling partners heavier than he was.
He pleaded, cajoled and pestered promoters for fights, and slowly began building a reputation.
He had an amateur record of three wins — including a tap-out in 11 seconds — and three losses.
His credo: “You can’t be a gracious winner without being a gracious loser.”
Kirkham expanded his passion for MMA by founding a club named the Fayetteville Independents and recruited other amateur fighters from around the country.
There is speculation online about how a man as tall as Kirkham could be only 155 pounds, but TJ Kirkham attributes it strictly to his brother’s metabolism and natural weight loss.
He acknowledges that MMA took his brother’s life but said he would be devastated if the sport were banned in South Carolina.
“My brother died doing what he loved,” he said.
