MMA Fighter Faked Death, Reports Say

MMA fighter faked death: An amateur heavyweight MMA fighter reportedly faked his own death and was arrested on robbery charges.
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MMA fighter faked death: An amateur heavyweight MMA fighter reportedly faked his own death and was arrested on robbery charges.

 

Promoters said that a mixed martial arts fighter had faked his own death last month, it was reported.

The Michigan-based promoters, Christo Piliafas and Scott DiPonio, said they raised more than $1,000 for the family of Charles Rowan, who supposedly died in a car crash, reported The Associated Press.  

But Rowan, girlfriend Rosalinda Martinez, and friend Michael Bowman were charged Friday with holding up a gun shop in Gladwin County, Michigan. They are charged with armed robbery and assault with the intent to murder, AP reported.

“I just felt bad for his family,” Piliafas, whose also a fighter, told UpNorthLive.com.

Piliafas told AP that he is upset that he was duped by Rowan, whose an amateur heavyweight.

Martinez apparently told friends, fighters, and others that Rowan, 25, died in a car crash several weeks ago.

But when his photo surfaced in reports as a person of interest the gun shop robbery, they learned that Rowan wasn’t actually dead.

When police arrived at the scene of the crime, they found the shop owner suffering from a head injury.

Rowan and Martinez are still at large, according to UpNorthLive.

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