MMA veteran Justin Levens and wife found shot dead in California home
by MMAmania.com on Dec 18, 2008 9:04 AM EST
Email
Print
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and International Fight League (IFL) veteran, Justin Levens, was found dead Wednesday afternoon in his Laguna Niguel, Calif., condominium, according to several published reports.
The wife of the 28-year-old mixed martial arts veteran, Sarah McLean-Levens, was also killed in the incident. She was just 25 years old.
Both were apparently victims of lethal gun shot wounds. The unfortunate finding is being described as a possible murder/suicide.
Levens last competed inside the Octagon against Jorge Santiago UFC Fight Night 5 in June 2006 (knockout loss). Prior to that he took on Evan Tanner at UFC 59: "Reality Check" back in April 2006, losing to the former middleweight champion in the first round via submission (triangle choke).
He dropped his last fight against Kenny Ento at Palace Fighting Championships (PFC) 4: "Project Complete" in October 2007. It was his fifth consecutive defeat and the eighth in his last 10 fights.
More on this disturbing and unfortunate situation as it unfolds.
32 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
With a recent record as bad as that, Mrs Shamrock should be looking over her shoulder.
by Nick J on Dec 18, 2008 10:02 AM EST up reply actions
shit murder suicide!
as morbid as it sounds i hope it was an intruder! im disturbed to think levens would commit a murder suicide.
damn i hope it wasnt a come down off steroids that was the reason for his his mental health and career taking a turn for the worst
by the heat on Dec 18, 2008 10:06 AM EST up reply actions
I think that the general consensus is that the use of Steriods don’t cause this type of behavior. For example, the Chris Beniot murder suicide appears to have boiled down to brain damage caused by the many, many concussions he suffered over the course of his professional wrestling career. From the wiki page on the Benoit murder suicide,
“Former wrestler and Harvard graduate Christopher Nowinski, who has since gone on to be a groundbreaker in the field of sports-related concussion trauma and Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (or CTE), along with the writing of the book Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis, has said that Benoit may have been suffering from repeated, untreated concussions throughout his wrestling career, ultimately leading to an unstable mental state.”
All that said, I hope that Justin Levens’ profession in no way contributed to this tragedy and my thoughts go out to the family and friends of Levins and his wife.
by Canucklehead on Dec 18, 2008 12:28 PM EST up reply actions
I agree. I hope it wasn’t a murder-suicide. The Benoit was horrible and the media crucified pro wrestling for it. I hope they don’t do the same to MMA due to this. Fortunately this is the only coverage I’ve seen. It sucks for their families either way.
by MMArk on Dec 18, 2008 1:31 PM EST up reply actions
That is unfortunate.
Sherdog says his last fight in the octagon was against Jorge Santiago. Where he lost by a KO in 2006. Now he was on a five fight losing streak.
by FJ on Dec 18, 2008 9:09 AM EST reply actions
When someone has a record like that, and is obviously not very good, I wonder why they keep fighting. Losing every fight can’t be good for a persons mental stability, especially if it is someone who has problems to begin with. I’m not saying that is why he would do something like this, I have no idea why anyone would do something that awful, but I can’t think that it helped the situation.
by naturalshadow on Dec 18, 2008 12:23 PM EST up reply actions
It is going to be one sad Christmas for their families over the next few years.
God Bless Them.
by TapedUpPair on Dec 18, 2008 9:24 AM EST reply actions
that is unfortunate that he had to kill his wife also, assuming he was the ‘man of action’ in the murder/suicide.
kind of like the chris benoit situation, except no children.
that’s really a bad situation.
by joseph.67 on Dec 18, 2008 9:43 AM EST reply actions
Hey dont forget about Phil Hartman. This guy could have been asleep when it happenened like Phil was. RIP Phil Hartman, a true great… and Levens too
by JRE on Dec 18, 2008 11:43 AM EST up reply actions
Great memory! I am sure this has crossed Joe Rogan’s mind as well.
by TapedUpPair on Dec 18, 2008 1:33 PM EST up reply actions
I just hope this does not turn out to be the next Chirs Benoit situation in which a huge black cloud hangs over the head of MMA.
by "Mr. NC-17" on Dec 18, 2008 9:43 AM EST reply actions
That’s exactly my fear. I’m not claiming a connection with MMA and his suicide, but with the recent death of Tanner, and now this, anyone looking for a reason to hurt the image of MMA will use this. I’m sure we’ll see all of the comments about the brutal violence in MMA and how that leads to rage and so on. Especially after the last “Fight For the Troops” card. Probabley from Lampley at HBO or folks that simply can’t tolerate MMA.
It’s a horrible situation either way, but I hate to think he killed himself and his wife. My prayers go out to the families.
by Jrandolph on Dec 18, 2008 10:28 AM EST up reply actions
i remember that fight with evan, he replaced jeremy horn. didnt follow him much after that fight though.
r.i.p. to both of them
by AzCombat on Dec 18, 2008 9:52 AM EST reply actions
i read this on espn.com last night. It is sad, god bless the families of these two young people
by LOKIE on Dec 18, 2008 10:27 AM EST up reply actions
i remember there was some buzz around levens and scott smith coming over from WEC and both debuted on UFC 59 – its such a pity to see such potential cut short.
We can only hope that it was an intruder and that Levens didnt mourder his wife before taking his own life because it would make sympathy tough.
by peteski on Dec 18, 2008 10:24 AM EST reply actions
This is really sad. Look at the high profile incidents with MMA recently. Fight for the troops injuries, Tanner death, Rampage arrest, Liddell drunk interview, Jesse kicking out a limo window and stalking around a casino, Gabe Rutiger getting KO’d by a piece of cake and having an enema. It has been a tough year and a half.
by Jojo on Dec 18, 2008 11:29 AM EST reply actions
I served in the navy with levens and I remember him being kicked out because of steroids. He was a nice guy. I sure hope it was an intruder, but with a seemingly unsuccessful career and if he was still using steroids, it is a recipe for disaster. Everything said, Justin was a very successful fighter. He fought in the UFC. Nobody can ever take that from him or the memory of him.But if it was his decision making that killed his wife then himself it should not be linked at all with MMA.
by Travis Napier on Dec 18, 2008 11:50 AM EST reply actions
Hey guys…. this story made it to the main site on espn. sadly, idiots took the opportunity to trash talk mma.
check out the comments
by David on Dec 18, 2008 1:57 PM EST reply actions
Maybe she was arguing with him about finding a new career and he got pissed and things got out of hand. Then it eventually led to her getting shot, and he realized how f*%$ed up his life was now and he’d probably go to jail so he suicides. Just my 2 cents.
by zzz on Dec 18, 2008 4:53 PM EST reply actions
its sad to hear something like that..i actually live in laguna niguel where he lived.
by danny on Dec 18, 2008 7:27 PM EST reply actions
i’ll wait for further news to find out what really happened with Justin Levens and his wife. currently, we can only guess what happened.
by Rose on Dec 18, 2008 11:12 PM EST reply actions
as one of justins friends i actually enjoyed reading these comments most had good things to say about him. with the exception of zzz but in his defense that just sounds like ignorance. take the the time to read some of the comments left on other blogs and imagine how someone who knew him would feel reading them, lets just say i hope i never find out who they are. Justin was an awesome person and this is just a tragic situation. p.s. he was not on roids. God Bless
by Oscar Gil on Dec 21, 2008 4:36 AM EST reply actions
How about this Scenario?
Levens had taken HGH but not steroids. HGH had been condoned by his managers. He had been injured in fights, still suffered effects from head injuries from a concussion and a separated shoulder. He used pain meds so he could continue to fight with his painful injuries. This was not a secret from his handlers. He had been matched with fighters out of his class and sufferred even more injuries. Again, known by handlers.
He had planned to leave MMA fighting but was discouraged and then “talked down” and then talked into staying on. Ultimately, he became dependent on pain meds – as many do and obviously found “alternate” sources for them. The downward spiral of Levens and the destructive lifestyle he chose was shared, at least in part by his wife who had substance issues and history as well as stated suicidal tendencies. Both had forayed into that destructive underworld. Levens was a sweet, gentle soul – naively committed to people he perceived as his friends. Maybe just anothor tragic figure exploited by people he revered. MMA responsible? not likely. MMA guiltless? also not likely. In tragic situations such as these, mayve we should all be looking inward.
by Ramsey on Jan 1, 2009 6:05 PM EST reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
