33-year-old former UFC fighter Geane Herrera passes away in tragic motorcycle crash
Former UFC and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship fighter Geane Herrera has passed away. Herrera's sudden demise was caused by a motorcycle accident that occurred late on Saturday night in Tampa, Florida on the Gandy Bridge.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported that a 33-year-old man from Tampa was traveling at a very high speed toward Hillsborough County on the Gandy Bridge. Herrera was the man, who then collided into the back of a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Following the initial impact, the fighter struck a concrete barrier and was thrown back into the road, falling several hundred feet before the motorcycle caught fire. However, the driver of the car who pulled up to the scene was unharmed.
The Herrera family has launched a fundraiser to help them get through this difficult moment.
In a recent post on X, MMA journalist Adam Martin first reported the news of the passing away of Herrera. With the following caption, he wrote:
''Unfortunately, I have to pass along some bad news. Former UFC and BKFC fighter Geane Herrera passed away at age 33. His family has a GoFundMe here. https://gofundme.com/f/support-geanes-family-in-their-time-of-grief… RIP Geane.''
'La Pulga' was an American fighter of Colombian descent, who was born in California. At the very young age of 20, he made his professional mixed martial arts debut in March 2011. Before signing with the UFC in 2014, the flyweight competed exclusively for regional organizations in the Southeastern United States, where he went undefeated at 8-0.
The 33-year-old has split his record in BKFC after his most recent bouts, winning against Abdiel Velazquez and losing to Reggie Barnett Jr. at BKFC 19 and BKFC 32, respectively.
Check out Geane Herrera's fight with Abdiel Velazquez below:
Geane Herrera's stint with UFC
Geane Herrera (9-3) made his octagon debut against Ray Borg at UFC Fight Night 73, losing the fight via unanimous decision. Herrera then stepped in as a replacement for Justin Scoggins to face Joby Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter 22 finale.
In the last minute of the second round, Herrera earned a TKO stoppage after going back and forth for two rounds.
Herrera then went toe-to-toe against Ali Bagautinov on June 18, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 89, losing the fight via unanimous decision. In his last octagon appearance, he squared off against Ben Nguyen at UFC Fight Night 101, again losing the fight via unanimous decision.
Following the defeat, Herrera was released from the promotion.