Longtime MMA veteran and a pioneer of the midwest mixed martial arts scene, Brian Gassaway, has sadly died at 49.
Gassaway's death was confirmed by a GoFundMe page launched as a memorial fund for his family, but no cause of death has been officially revealed. A 52-fight veteran that competed in the UFC, Bellator, WEC, King of the Cage, Shooto, and Pancrase, Gassaway leaves behind an extensive legacy. He competed against the likes of Diego Sanchez, Yuki Kondo, Ikuhisa Minowa, Vernon White, Nick Thompson, John Alessio, Jose Landi-Jons, Forrest Petz, and Mike Pyle over the course of his career. Gassaway also was inducted into the Illinois Martial Arts Hall of Fame back in March 2018 and had been coaching martial arts in the Chicago area. His brother Wesley did make the following post to Facebook that indicated Brian might've been struggling with issues caused by CTE.
Our entire team at Fightful would like to express our condolences to the Gassaway family, as well as to any of his friends and peers. He leaves behind a wife and son. The following tributes were posted to social media in honor of Gassaway's memory.
Rest in power, my brother. Brian Gassaway was so supportive of me and my team, and I learned a lot about what it means to be a real coach from him. pic.twitter.com/TUDl9pvA1s
— Elias Cepeda (@EliasCepeda) October 16, 2021
Just found out that my 1st MMA coach Brian Gassaway passed away way too early. I remember walking into CFC at 15 years old and taking his classes with Shonie Carter. One of the nicest, and gentle human being I’ve ever met. https://t.co/kKBXFO88wZ @Grabaka_Hitman could you share?
— EK (@EdwardsKim) October 17, 2021
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