By the time we made it to 2025, a promising budding talent met an untimely demise. The news spread across the internet, as many MMA fighters took to social media to extend their condolences and pay their tributes. One of those fighters is India’s UFC lightweight fighter, Anshul Jubli, who shared a few words recently in memory of the fighter who passed away, as ‘King of Lions’ turns out to have been his teammate.

The MMA fighter in question was a young fighter by the name of Hakaraia Wilson, who hailed from the Island nation of New Zealand. As we know, there are quite a few New Zealand stars in the UFC, and Wilson could have been the next in line to make his way into the most elite platform MMA has to offer. The 26-year-old was just starting out in the professional circuit with a 4-3 record, but before he could ever fight for a title, Wilson sadly passed away.

According to reports, Anshul Jubli’s teammate was in Gisborne, New Zealand, when local authorities learned about what they’ve described as a “sudden death.” This happened on New Year’s Eve last December, as the police claimed that there was no evidence of any “suspicious” act behind the death, believing that Wilson may have been facing some mental health issues.

Despite the unusual nature of his untimely demise, Hakaria Wilson is not forgotten. His gym, the Soma Fight Club, in Bali, Indonesia, has announced a little get-together in memory of the New Zealand fighter. Anshul Jubli caught hold of the announcement as he shared it on his Instagram stories, with a special message for his fallen teammate. “[Hakaraia Wilson] forever in our hearts, brother,” Jubli wrote.

UFC stars Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker also paid tribute to Wilson

Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker are all about celebrating their teammates and fighters from their native country. It was the same with Hakaraia Wilson, as they also remembered him after the 26-year-old’s untimely demise. Firstly, ‘The Hangman’ felt Wilson’s absence, as he wrote, “Fly high brother. You’ll be missed my brother,” showcasing that Hooker and the young fighter knew each other personally.

On the other hand, Israel Adesanya spoke about the most unfortunate fact about Hakaraia Wilson’s death, which is the fact that he was only in his 20s and didn’t even reach his prime as an MMA fighter. ‘The Last Stylebender’, clearly devastated, wrote, “Heartbreaking! Fly high my Maori. Too many of our young tane taken too soon,” on social media as he remembered the young fighter.

Sadly, Hakaraia Wilson, who started fighting because of his father, who also used to be a fighter, isn’t the only MMA fighter who passed away last year. Pop star Devi Lovato’s ex-boyfriend and former UFC fighter Guilherme ‘Bomba’ Vasconcelos also passed away in 2024. Nevertheless, they have left a lasting impression on the fight community and will always be remembered.