Former UFC fighter Cain Carrizosa, aka Cain Castillo, has been charged following two alleged assaults on his girlfriend.
It has been a rough start to 2023 for the image of the UFC, beginning with footage of UFC President Dana White slapping his wife multiple times being released by TMZ. Then, shockingly, former UFC and Pride fighter, Phil Baroni, was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend.
Now, Cain Carrizosa joins the horrifyingly long list of fighters who have been involved in a domestic incident. Carrizosa was charged with a second-degree felony aggravated assault and domestic violence, along with a charge of robbery.
Per ABC4.com, the first of two incidents took place on March 24 of last year. The victim would tell police that she and Carrizosa had an argument, after which the 36-year-old punched her in the head, knocking her onto the road. The former lightweight then dragged her onto the pavement, stole her phone, and left the scene.
Following the incident, while talking to police, the victim then fainted and would suffer a seizure.
Then on New Year’s Day, police responded to another incident involving Carrizosa and the same victim. On arrival, the police found the victim in a seizure-like state, from what they believe was another strike to the back of the victim’s head. The woman would continue to ‘seize off and on’ while being taken to the hospital.
Cain Carrizosa is one of many
There is a worrying trend of fighters who believe it is acceptable to hit women, not just in MMA but in boxing as well. Just a couple of weeks ago, boxing star Gervonta Davis, who fought last night, was arrested on domestic violence charges.
The pattern of abuse and violence is long-standing within combat sports and has plagued some of the best fighters in their respective sports. People would not have to look far to find some truly horrifying stories. Fighters such as Edwin Valero and War Machine spring to mind for the extremes of their crimes, but examples of fighters, some of which are huge stars, committing acts of serious violence against women are not hard to find.
What should combat sports do to rid it of people like Cain Carrizosa?