Justin Thornton: MMA fighter dies following 19-second knockout

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MMA fighter Justin Thornton has died aged 38, several months after he suffered a 19-second knockout in bare-knuckled boxing bout.

The fighter was taken to hospital following a heavyweight fight with Dillon Cleckler in Mississippi, in which he was knocked unconscious.

Announcing his death, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship president David Feldman said: “This morning we were very saddened to be notified of the passing of one of our fighters, Justin Thornton, who competed at BKFC-20 on August 20, 2021.

“We join the rest of the combat sports community in sending our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”

No cause of death has been officially released, although his opponent Dillon Cleckler said it was from pneumonia.

On 23 September, a woman named Amber Willard who identified herself as Mr Thornton’s “on-off partner” of seven years posted an update on his condition on his personal Facebook page.

Ms Willard said he’d been left paralysed after the fight, and was on a ventilator, an IV for a lung infection and medication for an injury to his spinal cord.

Mr Thornton was a veteran of 24 MMA fights, and had an 6-18 win-loss record.

He had previously fought UFC heavyweights Chase Sherman and Walt Harris, and last won a fight in 2016, suffering five straight first-round defeats since then.

International Boxing Hall of Fame 2020 inductee Lou DiBella questioned how he could have been allowed to continue to fight.

“This fatal night was his sixth consecutive first round stoppage,” Mr DiBella wrote on Twitter.

“The 38 year old survived the first five. The state of combat sports regulation in America is atrocious.”

On Instagram, Mr Thornton’s final opponent Dillon Cleckler wrote that “nothing could prepare you” for losing a fellow fighter.

“Justin is a warrior. It’s in his blood to fight. He loved it. He fought anyone, anytime and anywhere and when I didn’t have an opponent, he still jumped at the opportunity to get in there with me again,” Mr Cleckler wrote.

“I can’t help but feel absolutely devastated about this because I’ve known Justin for years.”