MMA fighter Leandro “Feijao” Souza (5-5) passed out and died before Shooto Brazil 43 weigh-ins on Thursday, and the fighter’s aunt, Elma Caetano, revealed he used Lasix, a diuretic pill, to help him make weight for the flyweight bout against Gabriel Brasil (1-1).
“I didn’t know he was taking that,” Caetano told Extra on Saturday. “Two kids that train with him told me that (he was taking Lasix).”
Several sources told MMAFighting.com that Souza took three diuretic pills on Wednesday and four on Thursday, and he was two pounds over the limit when he passed out inside a sauna. He got the fight on short notice and had to lose 33 pounds in one week.
Andre Pederneiras, president of Shooto in Brazil, told Extra that his death is not related to the weight cutting process.
“That could have happened to anyone,” Pederneiras said. “It unfortunately happened on a day that all the fighters were losing weight. But that has nothing to do with (him cutting weight). We will wait for more exams, but (the doctors) already said that he suffered a stroke.”
Diuretics are banned in MMA, but Brazilian promotions don’t run drug tests before the fights. In general, most of the MMA promotions in Brazil only require blood exams for diseases like hepatitis and AIDS.
“We ask for exams and they deliver it to us during the weigh-ins, so we couldn’t get his,” Pederneiras said. “He suffered the stroke in a day he was losing weight, but it’s not related to that. We’re very sad with this situation so we decided to cancel the event.”