Katy Collins, a former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and a mother of two young children, died on Sept. 25 at the age of 32 after having suffered from a brain aneurysm, according to her family and close friends.
Collins, from Arkansas, was in hospital for five days following a brain aneurysm before she died, according to the BBC.
Branson Fight Club Head Coach JT Tilley, Collin’s ex-coach, said in a tribute posted to Facebook that after learning of her death, he was “destroyed.”
“The fight is over. You never stopped fighting and we never gave up on you. Just wasn’t in the cards,” Tilley wrote. “I’ve always been so proud of you Kate. We did it. I was honoured to be able to live your dream with you. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I will miss you more than the world will ever know.”
Collins started competing on the amateur circuit in 2011, according to a profile on Sherdog.com. In her three-year professional career between 2015 to 2018, she had a professional record of seven wins and five defeats. She was nicknamed “The Red Dragons” and fought for various promotions, including Bellator and the Legacy Fighting Alliance.
A GoFundMe account was set up by friend Sarah Jones to cover medical and funeral expenses. The page said that she is survived by her two young sons.
“I am Sarah Jones, her best friend and she worked with me every day in Branson at her job at the Baldknobbers Motor Inn,” Jones wrote on the page. “These funds will be used specifically for her funeral expenses and to set up a trust fund for her two sons, Mason and Kaden. I will personally be overseeing the use of these funds to pay for her services, and to set up the trust fund.”
Jones describes Collins as a “loving, caring, selfless individual with a huge heart.” In an earlier post, she wrote, “Katy was young and strong and full of life and love. Her family will need all the help they can with funeral and medical costs.”
The page had raised more than $5,000 as of early Sept. 27.
Before reports of her death, the GoFundMe page read, “Everyone knows Katy Collins as a fighter but right now she is fighting for her life. Katy had a brain aneurysm Friday September 20th and she will have a long road to recovery ahead of her. If anyone knows Katy, you would know she is a loving, caring, selfless individual with a huge heart. Right now she needs help to make it through the next few months with personal and medical expenses piling on. Please, friends family and loved ones… any help at all is appreciated for our friend right now.”
Collins’ sister, Kimberley Greene, had been providing updates on Facebook, saying in a post on Sept. 21: “Yesterday morning Katy had an aneurysm that caused a stroke and that caused seizures! They done a procedure yesterday morning and the first one didn’t work, it ruptured again! They rushed her for a second one and it took at this time! Now she is fighting with some swelling of the brain and fluids.
“They are keeping it drained and keeping her sedated so her brain can rest and she won’t be woke [sic] up until at least Monday!” Greene wrote at the time. “The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was just being told I can look at her but I can’t speak to her or hold her hand or anything, of course I couldn’t bare [sic] that but a minute or two before I left! Keep the prayers coming, GOD hasn’t brought her this far, to only be this far!!”
Four days later, she wrote on Facebook: “You’re my hardest goodbye My Beautiful Sister!”
In another post later that day, Greene wrote, “I know you would want me to thank all of these friends for the posts and shares personally but Sister you have so many. Seeing them all made my heart smile. Out of all the people in the world you’re my favorite! I love you so much.”