A 23-year-old Samoan-born Muay Thai fighter is in a coma after competing in a bout in Thailand last week, according to Fight News Australia.
Resilience Training Center member Simon “Sy” Leafa, who had been living in Melbourne, Australia, was training at Absolute MMA in Thailand on a sponsorship when he accepted the offer to take a match on the WBC Muaythai card on September 9. After the fight, however, it was discovered that he had a brain bleed, and he’s since received two operations, one of which took place immediately after the discovery of the brain bleed. Despite the operations, however, Leafa remains in a coma.
Now, a GoFundMe with a goal of $30,000 has been started to get Leafa medically transferred back to Melbourne. At the time of this post’s publication, over 400 people have donated to the cause, apparently including UFC fighter Kelvin Gastelum, who donated $1,000. In under 24 hours, the fundraiser was up to $27,000.
If you would like to donate to support Leafa, the GoFundMe can be found here. The Jiu-Jitsu Times will provide updates on his condition as they become available.
