Iuri Lapicus former ONE Championship title challenger killed in a motorcycle accident
By Amy Kaplan
Iuri Lapicus, a former ONE Championship title challenger, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Italy
According to Milano Today, MMA fighter Iuri Lapicus, 27, has died following a motorcycle crash.
The incident reportedly occurred in the "northwest hinterland of Milan" where Lapicus was found in a coma after losing control of his motorcycle and smashing into a 69-year-old woman's car.
Lapicus was airlifted to the Niguarda hospital in Milan, where he was pronounced dead.
The report states that the woman was taken by ambulance to the hospital for shock after Lapicus was thrown "a few meters."
Devastating news from Italy. One Championship fighter Iuri Lapicus lost his life in a car accident. He was 27. Iuri’s career took off after signing with One where he fought people like Eddie Alvarez, Christian Lee and Marat Gafurov. May he rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/GGzbYVMlvG
— Tudor Leonte (@MrTudorLeonte) March 20, 2023
Lapicus has fought the likes of Eddie Alvarez, Christian Lee and Marat Gafurov. He last fought at ONE Fight Night 1, in August 2022.
He fought Lee in October 202 for the ONE welterweight title in Singapore. He lost via TKO.
In March 2021 he spoke about how martial arts helped him to integrate into a new country at a young age.
“The toughest hardship I faced was integration. Being a teenager in a new country, not speaking the local language, is really difficult,” he told Nathan McCarter. “In this process, sport, and martial arts, in particular, helped me a lot. Contact sports, in general, are such an effective way to let off steam in the proper way, and it also helped me a lot with my self-discipline and self-esteem.”
14-time world champion kickboxer Giorgio Petrosyan shared a tribute to Lapicus on Instagram writing, "want to remember you like this," along with several photos of his friend.
At press time ONE Championship has not posted about the death.