Joao Carvalho In Serious Condition After TEF Bout On Saturday Night

Team Nobrega welterweight Joao Carvalho is today in serious condition in hospital following his fight on Saturday night at Total Extreme Fighting (TEF) which took place at Dublin’s national boxing arena.

Carvalho lost on the night to SBG’s Charlie Ward via 3rd round TKO.

Reports emerged after the fight that Carvalho was transported to the hospital but wasn’t initially thought to be in a serious condition. That, though, has changed since Saturday as he remains in hospital.

TEF released the following statement on its facebook page.

“Statement on condition of Joao Carvalho

Last night (Saturday 9th April) at the National Stadium in Dublin, mixed martial artist Joao Carvalho was hospitalized following his three round TKO stoppage defeat against fellow welterweight, Charlie Ward.

Following the referee stoppage Carvalho, who competes as a member of the Portuguese club Team Nobrega, was assessed by doctors and medical staff at the onsite medical office as per normal procedure. It was determined that he should be sent to hospital, where he is still under assessment and receiving medical treatment at this time.

Cesar Silva, CEO of TEF said “Our thoughts are with Joao Carvalho, his family and Team Nobrega. Joao’s welfare is our primary focus at this moment in time but we will update you on Joao’s condition as it becomes clearer. If you could respect Joao Carvalho and Team Nobrega’s privacy at this time, it would be greatly appreciated.”

Mr. Silva also thanked the medical staff on duty, “The promotion and fighters followed best regulatory practices. We had also three doctors and paramedic staff present on the night. Their presence ensured that the seriousness of Joao’s condition was recognized and swift action taken and we are thankful for their help. Serious injuries like this are rare worldwide in MMA but it is important that every possible precaution is taken to ensure every competitor’s welfare.”

*** If you could respect the Joao Carvalho and Team Nobrega’s privacy at this time, it would be greatly appreciated ***”

SBG head coach John Kavanagh also released a statement today;

“Absolutely devastated for the family of the young fighter Joao Carvalho who is in a bad condition following a closely contested bout with one of my fighters Saturday night. Although over the last 20 years or more there have been 100s of thousands of contests worldwide in 1000s of shows and this tragic outcome is incredibly rare it’s not much consolation for the friends and family of Mr.Carvalho who must be besides themselves with worry and deserve to have their privacy respected.

At this point my only concerns are for the young man and hope the expert medical attention he’s receiving can help him through this.

I’ve included a statement here from the promotion for people’s information.

http://www.tefmma.com/sem-categoria/statement-on-condition-of-joao-carvalho/

It is my understanding the family and club have requested that their privacy is respected. For the family’s sake I hope the media can give them space to deal with this and more importantly I hope he can pull through this.”