The death of a Portuguese mixed martial arts fighter in Dublin earlier this year could lead to criminal proceedings, a detective revealed yesterday.
An inquest heard that Joao Carvalho, 28, died from blunt force trauma to the head on April 9 after a fight with Charlie “The Hospital” Ward at Total Extreme Fighting, an event organised at the National Boxing Stadium.
Paul Cleary, a detective inspector at Kevin Street Garda Station, told the inquest that a garda file has been submitted to the DPP.
The welterweight fighter was knocked out in the third round and died at Beaumont Hospital on April 11. Video footage showed that once he was knocked down Mr Carvalho took another nine punches to the head before the fight was stopped.
Mr Carvalho was treated at the Richmond Intensive Care Unit at Beaumont Hospital. He was pronounced dead at the RICU at about 10pm on April 11.
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Dublin coroner’s court yesterday heard that his brother, Alexandre, identified his body to Brian O’Shea, an officer at Santry Garda Station.
Dr Marie Cassidy, the state pathologist, conducted a post mortem the following day. The cause of death was given as acute subdural haemorrhage due to blunt force trauma to the head.
Mr Cleary applied for an adjournment under Section 25 Subsection 1 of the Coroner’s Act to allow time for a decision to be made by the DPP.
“An Garda Siochana have prepared a file and it has been submitted to the DPP . . . criminal proceedings are being contemplated,” Mr Cleary said. “The Health Service Authority have carried out a separate investigation.”
The HSA looked at carrying out an investigation earlier this year, but found that Mr Carvalho was a self-employed fighter and his death would not have come under the relevant legislation because he had no employee relationship with Total Extreme Fighting.
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Dr Myra Cullinane, the coroner, adjourned the inquest until June and extended her sympathies to the Carvalho family. They were not present but had been made aware of proceedings, the court heard.
Mr Carvalho reportedly began to feel unwell around 20 minutes after a technical knockout in the third round of his fight against Mr Ward.
He was representing the Portuguese club Team Nobrega. It released a statement following Carvalho’s death thanking Total Extreme Fighting medical staff at the venue and hospital staff for their efforts to save his life.
The statement said Mr Carvalho had “gained notoriety nationwide and internationally” during his career and his death left the team and his family heartbroken.
Michael Ring, the former sports minister, had called for MAA to be regulated after Mr Carvalho’s death.
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The Irish Mixed Martial Arts Association (IMMAA) was formed after Mr Ring’s comments to compel fighters and trainers to agree to external regulation.
There are about 100 clubs across Ireland that have teams fighting under IMMAA rules. It published guidelines on the standard of care required at events it had sanctioned in March, when it was known as the Irish Amateur Pankration Association.
Two doctors are required to be cage-side at amateur fights along with a paramedic crew. Professional events need ambulances and treatment rooms at the venue.
A spokesman for the department of sport yesterday said that the matter was being considered by Sport Ireland, which is still considering whether or not MMA should be recognised and funded by the state governing body.
The Irish Martial Arts Commission, the governing body for martial arts, had compared MMA to dogfighting and said that concerns about it being pushed underground if it was not regulated were misguided.