"Horrible news to see, Canada lost a great one" - Kelvin Gastelum, Michael Chiesa, and other MMA personalities react to Elias Theodorou passing away at age 34 

Former UFC middleweight Elias Theodorou recently passed away at the age of 34 leaving the MMA community in shock. Winner of the TUF Nations: Canada vs Australia back in 2014, Theodorou is considered to be a pioneer of Canadian MMA.

The MMA community mourns the premature death of 'The Spartan' while reportedly batting stage 4 Liver cancer. UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum wrote on Twitter:

"Horrible news to see, Canada lost a great one"

UFC welterweight staple Michael Chiesa teared up while recollecting an instance when Theodorou gave him his jacket for a press conference. 'Maverick' said in a Twitter video:

"Elias and I went to EXOS a few times. I got asked on short notice to go and do a press conference about it and I didn't have a dress jacket, I didn't have anything with a collar... He took his jacket off and gave it to me. I never got a chance to give it back to him but that's the kind of guy he was."

UFC fighters Tanner Boser and Chris Curtis, amongst others, also offered their condolences.

Elias Theodorou earned a UFC contract with a decision win over Tyler Manawaroa at TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia. 'The Spartan' ammassed a 8-3 record before being unceremoniously released from the promotion in 2019.

At the time, Dana White claimed that the release was simply to make space for fighters with championship or top-five potential. However, Theodorou believed the UFC released him because they could pay multiple new guys with a single paycheck of his.

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Elias Theodorou has long been a proponent of marijuana legalization

Legalized marijuana use for athletes began January 2021, as long as it wasn't used for performance enhancing purposes. However, fighters like Elias Theodorou, who were the pioneers of the legalization battle, never got to reap the harvest.

Theodorou was diagnosed with bilateral neuropathy, a result of damage to the nerves located outside the brain and spinal cord. However, 'The Spartan' was denied an exemption by the UFC and allegedly advised him to use more opioids. Theodorou said in an interview with CBS News:

"They kept on telling me to take more prescription drugs, when my doctor and I knew that cannabis was right for me. They were telling me to take antidepressants and opioids, all while ironically or sadly having a campaign about the opioid crisis."

Elias Theodorou continued his battle for marijuana legalization even after his UFC release in 2019. In 2020, 'The Spartan' became the first fighter to receive a therapeutic use exemption for medical cannabis, granted by the British Columbia Athletic Commission in Canada.