Former ONE Lightweight Title Challenger Passes Away Due To Motorcycle Accident

ONE Championship and its fans are once again in mourning after the passing of former lightweight title challenger Iuri Lapicus.

The Singapore-based combat sports promotion revealed through its website that he had sustained serious injuries in a motorcycle accident sometime last week.

Additional information provided by Italian outlet Milano Today confirmed that Lapicus lost control of his motorbike at around noon time last Friday, March 17 and was immediately airlifted via helicopter to a hospital in the city.

The Moldovan-born resident of Italy had a solid resume of fights in smaller promotions, which featured an undefeated 11-0 record before being signed by ONE Championship.

Lapicus made his debut under ONE Championship's banner in May 2019 when he faced Shannon Wiratchai at ONE: Enter the Dragon, ending that bout with a rear-naked choke in the third round.

He would go on to share the cage against the likes of former ONE featherweight titlist Marat Gafurov, fought Eddie Alvarez in a controversial no-contest, and served as Christian Lee's first challenger for the ONE lightweight title in the Singaporean-American's first reign.

His final bout under ONE Championship would come in a loss against Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE Fight Night 1 in August 2022 as he was knocked out with a big uppercut in the first round.

"The ONE Championship team is heartbroken over the tragic passing of Iuri Lapicus. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones at this difficult time. Rest in peace, Iuri," ONE Championship's tribute post on Instagram read.

He was 27.