Charlie Ward’s head coach John Kavanagh issues heartfelt statement following Joao Carvalho’s passing

What can one say at a time like this?

The MMA world is left heartbroken by the news emerging on Tuesday morning that top Portuguese prospect Joao Carvalho passed away following his TKO defeat at the weekend. Carvalho's bout with SBG welterweight Charlie Ward was stopped in the third round and, although it is almost universally agreed that the fight could have been halted earlier, there didn't seem to be too much of a problem as the referee called a stop to proceedings. But Carvalho's condition quickly worsened during his post-fight medical tests and he was taken to hospital after falling ill. His condition was described as 'serious' on Sunday and Carvalho sadly passed away on Monday night. In this time of mourning, Ward's head coach John Kavanagh released a statement asking for everyone to respect the privacy of Carvalho's friends and family.

"It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the passing of Portuguese fighter Joao Carvalho. On Saturday, April 9, the fighter suffered a medical issue following his three round TKO stoppage loss at a Total Extreme Fighting (TEF) Championship event at the National Stadium in Dublin Ireland. IAPA is working diligently with TEF to gather and evaluate all relevant facts and event processes and will participate in any investigation. Our condolences and thoughts, though, are with Joao’s family and friends and we kindly ask everyone to respect their privacy at this time."