Just two months before Kimbo Slice passed away suddenly, he tested positive for anabolic steroids, which caused him to be stripped of his final winning title in the Bellator 149 fight. This shocking revelation comes just days after Kimbo passed away seemingly out of nowhere on Monday, June 6, and unfortunately it’s hard not to wonder if there is a connection between the two.
So far, the only thing we know about Kimbo’s sudden passing is that he suffered heart failure after being hospitalized for unknown reasons the day he died. However, it’s no secret that using steroids can have a negative affect on the human heart.
Multiple studies have been conducted, especially by the Australia government, and in February 2014 the NSW revealed that there was absolutely a connection between the use of steroids and heart disease. “If you’re using sterioids, injecting steroids to bulk up, basically the irony is you’re actually causing damage to your heart,” Professor Shane Darke from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW explained.
The study conducted focused on 24 different deaths of men, ages ranging between 22 and 48 years old, all of whom had steroids in their systems. It must be noted that there is no evidence suggesting that Kimbo had steroids in his system at the time of death, or that he ever used them again after testing positive in March 2016. However, it’s unclear how long Kimbo was using steroids or if it was just a one-time thing, so unless an autopsy is conducted it’s hard to tell how much damage was caused to his heart, if any.
Our thoughts remain with Kimbo’s family and friends during this very difficult time.