Tragic news from Ireland as Joao Carvalho has died in Beaumont Hospital following a third round TKO loss to Charlie Ward Saturday night at Total Extreme Fighting 1 in the National Stadium in Dublin. Carvalho's death was confirmed via a Facebook post by his coach on the Team Nobrega Facebook page.

A translation of the statement from the original Portuguese by Bloody Elbow's Lucas Rezende reads:



"Nobrega Team confirms the passing of its athlete Joao Carvalho, which took place last night at the Beaumont Hospital, in Dublin, at 9:35 PM. It's with deep sadness that we write these words to inform you that Joao passed away after being in a critical state for 48 hours.



"During a TEF-MMA event that took place on Saturday, at the National Boxing Stadium, in Dublin, where all safety rules were followed and in a bout where the referee followed all the correct and usual procedures. Joao "Rafeiro" Carvalho felt unwell about 20 minutes after the fight.



"Still in the venue, he was assisted by the local medical team and then quickly transferred to the Beaumont Hospital, where he underwent a surgical cerebral intervention after which he remained in critical state for the next 48 hours until his passing, this Monday, at 9:35 PM.



"Despite the permanent medical assistance provided by both the organization and the hospital, for whom we are very thankful and despite the risks this sport involves, Joao's passing, in our professional point of view, was a huge misfortune. He leaves his family and us from Nobrega Team, who have been by his side throughout his career, deeply sad.



"It's with a huge weight in our hearts that we present our most sincere condolences to his family and all the Nobrega Team."

TEF CEO Cesar Silva gave a statement to Irish news site Sports Joe.

"We extend our most sincere condolences to the family of João Carvalho's and his teammates in Team Nobrega. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. We'd also like to thank all sports fans for their concern and support. We will give whatever support we can to Joao's family."

Charlie Ward's teammate Conor McGregor issued a statement on his Facebook page: "Tragic news from the event McGregor himself attended. Our condolences go to Carvalho's family, friends, and team."

This would be the fifth fatality in a sanctioned MMA bout since the 2007 death of Sam Vasquez in Houston, Texas. There have been at least 8 fatalities in unsanctioned MMA bouts since 1981.

We extend our condolences to Carvalho's friends and family.

Bloody Elbow will have more on the story as facts come to light.

UPDATE: John Kavanagh released this statement, which was written while Carvalho was still listed in critical condition.

"Absolutely devastated for the family of the young fighter Joao Carvalho who is in a bad condition following a closely contested bout with one of my fighters Saturday night.

"Although over the last 20 years or more there have been 100s of thousands of contests worldwide in 1000s of shows and this tragic outcome is incredibly rare it's not much consolation for the friends and family of Mr.Carvalho who must be besides themselves with worry and deserve to have their privacy respected.

"At this point my only concerns are for the young man and hope the expert medical attention he's receiving can help him through this."