Chris Wilkinson, senior coroner at Hampshire county, recently concluded that the death of kickboxer Saeideh Aletaha was a tragic accident.
Wilkinson determined that Aletaha could not have been saved after suffering an "unusual" fatal injury in her knockout loss to Janie Morgan during a Fast and Furious Fight Series bout at Central Hall in Southampton, England on November 15, 2019.
The 26-year-old was floored by a heavy punch to the chin in the third round of a Fast and Furious Fight Series bout. She regained consciousness after 10 seconds and responded when event paramedics, her coach and fellow fighters talked to her.
Minutes later, Aletaha collapsed in a toilet cubicle and was rushed to Southampton General Hospital. She died the following day.
Consultant neurosurgeon Jonathan Duffill said Aletaha was in a deep coma on arrival with an "apparent subdural hematoma, or bleed on the brain." (Related: Supplemental nutrition found to treat brain injury better than prescriptions, and may even provide some protection against injury.)
Pathologist Dr. Amanda Jeffery said she believed the fighter's condition was "already irrecoverable" by the time of her collapse in the toilet. Aletaha had no pre-existing brain injury and there was no "undue delay in recognizing how severely unwell she was," Jeffery noted.
Morgan, who was not present at the inquest, said in a statement that she and Aletaha hugged while chatting after the bout and that she was shocked to discover that her opponent later died. "We both agreed that it was a good fight, she thanked me and said 'well done.' I apologized as well. It is a full-contact sport but I do not want to seriously hurt anyone," Morgan said.
Aletaha, who was born into a religious family in Iran, wanted to prove to people that a "Muslim Lady" could compete in extreme sports even if she was wearing a Hijab.
Family raises concerns over potential mismatch
Her brothers, Amir and Ali, watched the hearing remotely and raised concerns over a potential mismatch. They even requested Morgan to attend the inquest in person to assess her physique, but the coroner rejected the request as it was "of little benefit" because the bout was almost two years ago.
"In her chosen sport, Saeideh always used to send her picture with her opponent before each match. However, we did note that for her last match she had cut the picture of her opponent and sent only her own picture," Aletaha's family said in a statement.
"We now think that if she had shared her opponent's picture, Amir would have certainly commented about their physical differences and the fact her opponent seemed bigger and more muscled. The night before the match she had mentioned to her sister Sepideh that she was stressed but never mentioned the reason."
Fight organizer rejects suggestions of mismatch
Organizer Richard Harding, who runs a Thai boxing school, rejected any suggestions of a mismatch.
He said Aletaha was more experienced than Morgan "on paper," had four years experience with two wins and one loss in Thai boxing and weighed in at 54kg. Morgan, a personal trainer who started learning martial arts at the age of 30, also had four years of experience going into the fight, but she had one win and one loss and came in at the same weight, Harding said.
Aletaha was a "movement-based" fighter who used speed in her fights also had previous experience in a form of bare-knuckle karate. Morgan was described as a hard-hitter who relied on power and sought to "hit Aletaha hard."
Harding told the inquest that Aletaha was slimmer but had a slightly longer reach than Morgan.
Amir asked Harding about Morgan's physique, referencing a promotional photo that suggested a mismatch. "From what we have seen and from what people who saw the fight said, it's very clear that [Morgan] is much stronger," Amir said. "If you show the photo to anyone they will say the other opponent is much bigger and has a much bigger frame."
But Harding said that Morgan just looks bigger because "she's top-heavy" while "Saeideh's body weight was much more evenly distributed across her body."
He said his events, which he has been running for a decade, adhered to strict safety guidelines and began a matchmaking process four months before the fights.
"I was satisfied that they were evenly matched. There was no mismatch in this and we managed the risks before the fight," Harding said. "Our gym is a family gym, losing someone like this is hard for everyone. We put these on to give a spectacle and this is the absolute worst thing that could happen but I'm fully confident that we did as much as we could."
Harding revealed Morgan requested that shinpads were removed for the fight, which Aletaha accepted, but quickly explained that it's a common request as fighters strive to replicate professional bouts.
He said there were two paramedics at the event with a private ambulance and that another ambulance was called when Aletaha was found critically ill. The fight between Aletaha and Morgan was close, with the latter just edging it on points before the knockout. Coroner Wilkinson described it as "intense" and said both fighters were "tired."
Should not have been left alone
Friends of Aletaha said they believed the kickboxer should not have been left alone after the fight and before she was found unconscious in a toilet cubicle. (Related: SHOCK finding: Brain cooling does not benefit people who have a brain injury.)
Oliver Pike and Anthony Thomas-Shergold were present during the fight. Pike rushed into the ladies' bathroom, where Aletaha had gone to get changed, after a woman called for help. He told the inquest: "I have concerns that she was allowed to go to the toilet alone, I feel she should not have been alone at all."
Thomas-Shergold also questioned why Aletaha drove herself to the event and was set to drive herself home. "I've never heard of a fighter driving themselves to a fight and certainly not driving themselves home," he said.
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