UFC and 'Ultimate Fighter' veteran Corey Hill dead at age 36
"Ultimate Fighter" season 5 competitor Corey Hill died on Friday due to complications from fungal pneumonia. He was 36 years old.
Hill's wife Lauran confirmed her husband's passing to TMZ.com. The cause of death was cardiac arrest due to a collapsed lung as a result of the illness.
"Corey was a loving husband and devoted father," Lauran Hill said. "He was such a strong role model for our children, and would do anything to keep them safe and happy and healthy.
"(He was) a fighter till the end."
Hill had been battling pneumonia for days and erroneous reports about his death came out on Thursday including a statement from the UFC confirming his passing. Hill continued to fight to stay alive through the night, but he was pronounced dead on Friday afternoon.
Hill was a part of the fifth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" in which he competed alongside a laundry list of top names including Nate Diaz, Joe Lauzon and Gray Maynard.
Hill fought in the UFC a total of three times with a 1-2 record overall before suffering a gruesome broken leg in his final fight for the promotion against Dale Hartt in 2008. Hill's injury was similar to the one suffered by former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Hill returned to fighting just over a year after suffering the broken leg although he never returned to the UFC again.
Hill last fought in February before suffering health problems that put him in the hospital just recently.
Hill is survived by his wife and three children.
