The combat sports world is reeling this morning from the tragic and sudden passing of long time Canadian fighter and Edmonton native, Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague. Details of the tragic story are abound on the internet and the latest can be found here on Sportsnet.ca.

The details of the story say that Tim should not have been given the clearance to fight by any commission or anybody for that matter and exposes a dark light on the prevention in place to avoid this type of thing from ever happening. The measures are indeed in place, however, the fighter, his team and the commission running the show, all failed to follow those procedures. This was a completely preventable tragedy, yet that is another article for another time. Today is a time to pay tribute and remember the man and fighter that was Tim Hague.

I knew Tim. He was one of Canada’s top active heavyweight mixed martial artist’s when I started really covering the sport in 2006. I did numerous articles and lists for Bleacher Report and Sportsnet during his rise through the regional ranks and debut in the UFC. During that time I interviewed Tim numerous times, and always hung up the phone laughing. He is one of the first Canadian fighters that I ever had as a contact in my phone, and even today, especially today, I look at his contact info and I smile. Tim was a Canuck. He was a gentle giant, a teddy bear working amongst the behemoths and beasts at the top of combat sports. His fun-loving enthusiasm burst through the phone lines whenever I spoke with him. He was honest, he was humble, at times to a fault as he sometimes expressed that he didn’t feel worthy of trading skills with the Pat Barry’s and Matt Mitrione’s of the world.

Tim had such a big heart and was like the big brother you wish that you had. Many tributes and stories are being posted on Twitter and Facebook such as this excellent story posted on Facebook by Alberta media member Allison Currie;

This from ESPN.com combat writer Brett Okamoto;

The upset that Brett refers to above vaulted the 10-1 Canadian regional star into the heart of the mix in the UFC heavyweight division. Hague would go on to fight four more times in the UFC between 2009 to 2011, facing tough opponents such as Todd Duffee, Joey Beltran and Matt Mitrione.

More from Twitter;

The Thrashing Machine finished his mixed martial arts career with a record of 21 wins and 13 losses.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this time.

RIP Tim, you have left a positive mark on the world and we will miss you.

Published by wakafightermma

Married father of two beautiful kids and Freelance Writer/Reporter who has covered MMA for over 12 years. An extensive background in studying mixed martial arts and a graduate of print journalism. I also write stories of inspiration and the fighting spirit. Author of three short books. "The Toughest Guy In Here", "Finding Bruce Lee and My JKD" and "Cate's Weekends with Daddy" Studied Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do from an early age and am a Lee historian. Covered mixed martial arts at every level from youth jiu-jitsu right up to being fully credentialed media member by the major organizations like the UFC, Bellator, WSOF, MFC and Score Fighting Series. View all posts by wakafightermma