MMA Fighter Iuri Lapicus Dead At 27

Sad news from the world of MMA. Fighter Iuri Lapicus passed away last week at the age of 27. It was announced by ONE Championship yesterday.

Iuri Lapicus was involved in a horrible motorcycle crash in Pogliano Milanese, Italy, on March 17, and unfortunately, he passed away.

Iuri Lapicus, the late MMA fighter, went head-to-head with Eddie Alvarez, a former star in the UFC, in April 2021. It was a win for Iuri.

Milano Today reported that Iuri lost control of his bike, crashed into a vehicle driven by a woman in Northwest Milan on Friday, and was thrown a considerable distance from the crash site.

After the motorcycle accident, Iuri was airlifted to Niguarda Hospital nearby. However, according to reports, he remained in a coma until he tragically passed away three days later due to his injuries.

Iuri Lapicus, a Moldovan-born Italian, was a friend and teammate of former ONE featherweight kickboxing champion Giorgio Petrosyan, who shared the heartbreaking news.

Giorgio Petrosyan's tribute to his late friend Iuri Lapicus on Instagram was touching and heartbreaking. He shared several photos of Lapicus in action in and out of the gym, captioning them with “I want to remember you like this. R.I.P.”

After Giorgio Petrosyan shared the news of Lapicus' passing on Instagram, fans flooded the comments section with messages of condolences.

ONE Championship organization expressed their heartbreak over the situation and extended their condolences to Lapicus' loved ones during this challenging time.“The ONE Championship team is heartbroken over the tragic passing of Iuri Lapicus. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones at this difficult time.”

Iuri Lapicus had a notable career in MMA, with a record of 14-2. He fought five times for ONE Championship between 2019 and 2022.

During his time with ONE Championship, Iuri Lapicus competed in five fights and achieved a 2-2. His most recent match was in April 2021 against Eddie Alvarez, ultimately ending in a no-contest.

Iuri Lapicus' last fight was on August 26, 2022, against Zebaztian Kadestam. Unfortunately, Lapicus could not secure a victory and was defeated in the first round via knockout.

Lapicus made a remarkable debut in ONE Championship. In his first match against Shannon Wiratchai, he used his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expertise to submit Wiratchai with a rear-naked choke.

He followed up that performance with another impressive submission win against former featherweight champion Marat Gafurov, again utilizing his signature technique of a rear-naked choke.

In an impressive streak, Iuri Lapicus earned a shot at the lightweight championship against Christian Lee after winning his first two fights in ONE Championship.

Lapicus showed early dominance by hurting Lee in the fight, but he was eventually finished with ground strikes before the end of the first round.

Later, Lapicus faced Alvarez, but the fight resulted in a No Contest after Alvarez landed illegal strikes to the back of Lapicus' head.

Lapicus moves to the welterweight division and suffers a first-round knockout loss against Zebaztian Kadestam.

Many ONE Championship stars, including former MMA champions Aung La N Sang, Joshua Pacio, Eduard Folayang, and kickboxing champion Jon Di Bella, have taken social media to share their heartfelt messages of support for Lapicus and his family.