Hakaraia Wilson, an MMA fighter from New Zealand, passed away suddenly on Wednesday, Jan. 1, at the age of 26.
Videos by Suggest
According to Te Ao News, Wilson was attending the Rhythm and Vines Festival in Gisborne, New Zealand, when he passed away. Local law enforcement confirmed the news.
“The death is not suspicious,” law enforcement officials stated. “And has been referred to the coroner.”
The official cause of death has not been released.
The media outlet further reported that Wilson had devoted his life to martial arts, mainly Jiu-Jitsu. He has been involved in MMA over the past few years.
His pro MMA record was 4-3, and his final fight took place in October.
Wilson revealed in mid-November that he had undergone surgery and even took a photo of himself in a hospital bed. Wilson was recently based in the U.S. under Bellator MMA.
“Surgery done,” Wilson wrote in an Instagram post at the time. “Be back asap.”
Hakaria Wilson Previously Revealed His Dreams of Going Into UFC
During a 2020 interview with Te Ao News, Wilson opened up about his fight career goals—he dreamed of being a UFC fighter someday.
“If I do well at that comp, it’ll be a matter of discussing with my coach, Steve Oliver, to see what options lie on the table,” he explained at the time. “The ultimate goal is to get to Bellator and then eventually to the UFC. Scouts will attend the MMA amateur worlds next year, so that will be my window of opportunity to move myself from amateur to pro if I win.”
Wilson further admitted that, while his MMA career hadn’t been 100 percent successful, he continued to push forward.
“I lost my first MMA fight, I blame my own ego for that in thinking I had the ground stuff on lock but ended up losing that fight by submission,” he said. “That’s the beauty of the sport, though, and there are heaps of lessons that I can take away from it. After that fight, I was back in the gym that following Monday, tweaking my mistakes and learning from my errors.”
Along with his UFC goals, Wilson had dreamed of inspiring Māori youth.
“I want the Māori youth to know that this is one of many pathways to venture and to explore, Māori have so much talent,” he said. “I just feel that the youth these days worry too much about parties and girlfriends, which is fine, I guess, but in terms of a possible career for the future, this is it. You just have to put the mahi in and grind.”