Former Belgian kickboxing champion Frederic Sinistra has passed away at his home after a severe case of COVID-19.
Sinistra had been admitted into the hospital back in November at the request of his kickboxing coach. Just weeks later, Sinistra checked himself out of the hospital against the advisement of doctors and opted to treat himself with oxygen at his home.
About a month later, he would suffer from cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead due to complications stemming from the virus.
Following his death, his wife posted a lengthy message on social media and defended her husband.
“[I] will fight to the end so that the truth is restored and his name is washed away from all these slanderers both family and around his death,” she said on his Facebook page. (h/t MSN)
Sinistra had been scheduled to fight on December 4th before COVID-19 restrictions forced the event to be canceled.
Frederic Sinistra Had Previously Mocked The Pandemic
The 41-year-old Sinistra refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine despite the virus surging throughout Europe. He also downplayed the pandemic as “the little virus” in late November.
“I was born premature and I will continue to fight to the death like a man without ever giving up and dying without regrets,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
The COVID-19 pandemic has rocked sports around the world, but MMA and combat sports have managed to stay afloat. The UFC, in particular, helped lead the charge to re-boot events as the world began to shut down in early 2020.
Sinistra accumulated a 39-9 heavyweight kickboxing record while also earning a national title back in 2004. At one point, he had been nicknamed as “Belgium’s strongest man”.
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