The giant and unforeseen world of MMA has witnessed several upsets and victories throughout the years. However, certain tragedies outdo any and all cage outings, no matter the stakes at hand. One such athlete named Shalie Lipp, who dreamt of gracing the UFC Octagon, has unfortunately passed away.
Rising MMA star Shalie Lipp died aged 21 after a horrific car crash. Reports say the Colorado native was a passenger in a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 94 in Minnesota on Sunday morning. Lipp was riding in a 2015 Chevrolet Malibu, which her coach Joseph Trottier, 35, was driving. Minnesota State Patrol said Trottier’s car “made contact” with a 2017 Jeep Cherokee on the Red River Bridge around 11:30 am.
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Shalie was the only occupant in both vehicles not wearing a seatbelt, while the three other people involved came out uninjured. Investigations are still going on surrounding the tragic crash. Joseph took to Instagram to share a series of images of the pair working together as he paid tribute to Shalie following her death.
The young star was looking to lock horns with Natalie Gage in the main event of Ignite No Mercy 11 in the Kent Freeman Arena in Detroit Lakes on May 20. A week ago, Shalie promoted the bout on her IG page, with a video of her training. She wrote, “I would love it if you guys came out and supported me so close to my hometown! Bring some friends, have a couple drinks, and enjoy some violence!”
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Lipp had reportedly returned after spending a month in Thailand to train in MMA and Muay Thai. As for the accident, she was on her way to a home in Moorhead to work as a nanny. Her last fight came in October 2022 on short notice, which she lost via unanimous decision.
Dana White reacts to the tragic demise of Shalie Lipp
In terms of training, she spent most of her time at the Academy of Combat Arts in Fargo, Minnesota. The owner of the facility, Dylan Spicer, told Valley New Live, “She was a promising young athlete, really fell in love with martial arts, and showed a lot of potential.”
Before fighting, Shalie partook in gymnastics as well as track and field. After competing in the pole vault at North Dakota State University, Shalie left college to pursue a career in MMA.
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‘No Mercy’ promoter Jeremy Bjornberg claimed that Shalie was on her way to shine in the UFC. “She had an amazing work ethic she had only been back a few days from a month of training in Thailand,” Jeremy told MMA News. “At 19 years old, she started fighting the top fighters in the Midwest. She was someone everyone knew was going to go somewhere and end up in the UFC.”
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Lipp held a 3-2 amateur MMA record, with all her wins coming by way of decisions. The news of her life’s tragic end soon spread like wildfire. According to UFC president Dana White, he came to know about it through UFC flyweight Lauren Murphy who told the story to Mick Maynard.
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White then paid tribute to Shalie by briefly sharing Lipp’s story and her dreams of fighting in the UFC. Under his Instagram post’s comments, Dana said, “Her mother found her journal and i guess at the end of every entry she would write “Dana White will know my name”.”
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The 53-year-old captioned the post with – “@shalielipp I KNOW YOUR NAME……. RIP.” Several UFC personalities started flooding the post in order to pay condolences to Shalie and her family. Most notably, Irish megastar Conor McGregor said, “❤️🙏”
Former middleweight champion Michael Bisping said, “Just heartbreaking.” While analyst and commentator Laura Sanko commented, “Thank you for sharing this…my heart goes gout to her family.”
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It is indeed a tragedy that we will never be able to see Shalie’s performances on the grandest stage of them all. What do you think of Lipp’s untimely demise? Let us know in the comments down below.