Elias Theodorou: 6 Things You Need To Know About the Icon

Canadian mixed martial artist Elias Michael Theodorou was born on May 31, 1988, and passed away on September 11, 2022.

He won The Ultimate Fighter of Nations: Canada vs. Australia while competing for the UFC in the Middleweight category, where he was ranked 13th at the time of his departure.

In January 2020, he became the first professional athlete in North America to be granted a cannabis medicinal use exemption.

Let’s look at 6 things you need to know about the late UFC icon:

Elias Theodorou: 6 Things You Need To Know About the Late UFC Icon — Elias Theodorou

1. Background

Theodorou, who is of Greek origin, was born, raised, and a student at Meadowvale Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario.

After his first year of college, he decided to take MMA classes as a workout before deciding to pursue MMA as a professional career.

On February 19, 2020, Theodorou became the first MMA fighter and professional athlete in history to receive a sanctioned exemption for medical cannabis (TUE) in sport from a governing body via the British Columbia Athletic Commission.

2. Theodorou’s Career

Theodorou represented Canada at “The Ultimate Fighter Nations Event” which took place between Canada and Australia in the year, 2013.

Subsequently, he went ahead to defeat Tyler Manawaroa in the semifinals after winning against Zein Saliba in the quarterfinals.

Following the semifinals, he traveled to Phuket Province, Thailand, to train at Tiger Muay Thai under the direction of coach Patrick Côté.

3. Fights During UFC

Elias Theodorou won the Middleweight division at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale by technical knockout in the second round against MFC veteran Sheldon Westcott.

On October 4, 2014, he faced Bruno Santos at UFC Fight Night 54 in which he triumphed by unanimous decision.
On March 14, 2015, at UFC 185, Elias Theodorou took on Roger Narvaez and after a first round in which Narvaez appeared to be in control, Narvaez broke his arm while attempting to block a kick from Theodorou.
Shortly after, Theodorou was able to end the fight via TKO with a barrage of blows.
On December 10, 2015, the talented fighter competed against Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night 80 in which he was defeated by a unanimous decision.

Elias Theodorou

On February 19, 2017, he competed against Cezar Ferreira at UFC Fight Night 105 in which he won the match via a contentious unanimous decision.
On July 7, 2017, mixed martial artist competed against Brad Tavares at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale where he was defeated by a unanimous decision.
On November 19, 2017, Theodorou fought Dan Kelly at UFC Fight Night 121 in which he triumphed by unanimous decision.
On May 27, 2018, the late UFC icon competed against Trevor Smith at UFC Fight Night 130.
On May 4, 2019, Theodorou competed against Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night 151 in which he was unfortunately defeated by a unanimous decision.

4. Fights After UFC

On December 6, 2019, Theodorou competed in his first fight since being released from the UFC at Prospect Fighting Championships 12. He defeated Hernani Perpetuo via TKO in the third round.

On March 13, 2021, he and Matt Dwyer, a fellow UFC veteran, squared up at Rise FC 6 in which he was technically knocked out in the third round to win the match.

On December 18, 2021, the late UFC fighter met Bryan Baker at Colorado Combat Club 10 where he won the contest by unanimous decision.

5. How He Died

Sadly, the one-time ECC Middleweight champion passed away on September 11, 2022, at the age of 34, from stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to the liver.

According to reports, he had been battling the illness for some years, but up until his passing, no one knew.