Thirty-seven-year-old Canadian mixed martial arts striking coach Shawn Tompkins passed away Sunday morning, Aug. 14, of a heart attack. The exact details surrounding his passing have not yet been released but reports indicate he was in Canada at the time.
The UFC confirmed the news on their UFC on Versus 5 broadcast Sunday night following initial online reports.
A former kickboxer and MMA fighter, Tompkins coached the Los Angeles Anacondas during their 2006 and 2007 seasons for the now defunct International Fight League. Starting out as assistant coach under Bas Rutten, he later took the reigns as head coach after Rutten stepped down.
In 2007, Tompkins took over as striking coach at Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. Then in 2009 he moved across town to the Tapout Training Center where he served as a trainer until his passing.
Tompkins served as longtime mentor and trainer to several prominent MMA fighters including Chris Horodecki, John Gunderson, Sam Stout and Mark Hominick, among others. Stay tuned to ProMMAnow.com as more details emerge on this unfortunate news.
UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Tompkins died of a heart attack.
[…] MMA trainer Shawn Tompkins dead at 37Pro MMA NowA former kickboxer and MMA fighter, Tompkins coached the Los Angeles Anacondas during their 2006 and 2007 seasons for the now defunct International Fight League. Starting out as assistant coach under Bas Rutten, he later took the reigns as head coach …Sources: Renowned MMA trainer Shawn Tompkins dead at 37MMAjunkie.comReports: MMA trainer Shawn Tompkins deadUSA TodayReport: Shawn Tompkins Dead at 37, Autopsy Pending5thRound.comToronto Sun -CBC.caall 22 news articles » […]