Blas Avena (June 30, 1983 – May 4, 2016) was an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2016, Avena competed for the WEC and Bellator. Known for his exciting fighting style, none of his 16 career bouts made it to a decision.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Avena relocated from Southern California to Las Vegas in 2004 to work as a security guard for the

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and later made his professional MMA debut in 2005. Avena compiled an overall record of 3-0 before being signed by the WEC.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Avena made his promotional debut at WEC 25 against

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on January 20, 2007. Avena lost via TKO in the third round. After the loss at WEC 25, Avena decided to drop down to the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division and faced

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on August 5, 2007 at

WEC 29 ''WEC 29: Condit vs. Larson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting. The event took place on Sunday, August 5, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event aired live on the Versus Network. ...

. Avena won via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Avena followed this up with another first-round submission win over Joe Benoit at

WEC 30 ''WEC 30: McCullough vs. Crunkilton'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). The event took place on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and aired live on t ...

before dropping his next fight against

Hiromitsu Miura is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division. He is also a former boxer who competed in the light heavyweight division. Mixed martial arts career Miura earned a WEC title fight against WEC Welterweight Champion C ...

WEC 33 ''WEC 33: Marshall vs. Stann'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) that took place on Wednesday, March 26, 2008. Background A rematch for the WEC Middlweight Championship between champion Paulo Filho ...

on March 26, 2008 via first-round knockout. Avena made his next appearance at

WEC 35 ''WEC 35: Condit vs. Miura'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on August 3, 2008 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada. The event drew an estimated 423,000 viewers on Versus. The ev ...

against Dave Terrel on August 3, 2008 and won via first-round TKO. Avena then faced Jesse Lennox on January 25, 2009 at

WEC 38 ''WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on January 25, 2009. It aired live on the Versus Network. In the main event, WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner defended his title against undef ...

. Avena was defeated via second-round knockout and subsequently released from the promotion.

Bellator MMA

After his release from the WEC, Avena went 1-3 with one no contest before being signed by Bellator. Avena made his promotional debut against Lenny Lovato February 28, 2013 at

Bellator 91 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

and won via first-round knockout. Avena then faced War Machine at

Bellator 96 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

on June 19, 2013. Avena was defeated via first-round TKO.

Death

On the morning of May 4, 2016, Avena's body was discovered by police in his Las Vegas apartment. A cause of death was not immediately disclosed, however it was being investigated as a suicide."Las Vegas Police Investigating Death of MMA Fighter Blas Avena as Suicide", by Tristen Critchfield, Sherdog.com

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

*
www.BlasAvena.comwww.wec.tv/BlasAvenaBlas 'The Dispile' Avena
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avena, Blas 1983 births 2016 deaths American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent Bodyguards American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu