Shalie Lipp, a 21-year-old amateur MMA fighter, passed away on Sunday in a car crash just two weeks before her upcoming fight.
According to Minnesota police, Lipp was a passenger in a 2015 Chevy Malibu when the vehicle was part of a collision on the Red River Bridge in Moorhead, MN on Sunday. Lipp was the only casualty in the crash and everyone else involved was uninjured. During the investigation, however, it was revealed that Lipp was found to not be wearing her seatbelt at the time of the accident.
Shalie Lipp trained at the Academy of Combat Arts in Fargo, was scheduled for an amateur fight on May 20 on the “No Mercy 11” MMA card at the Kent Freeman Arena in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. The news sent shockwaves to everyone in the area as Jeremy Bjornberg, who represents the promoters of the event, said everyone knew Lipp would eventually make it to the UFC.
Promoters Felt Lipp Would Make it To the UFC
“I was also a good friend of Shalie. … She was the definition of someone who lit up a room with excitement, talent and charisma. She had an amazing work ethic. She had only been back a few days from a month of training in Thailand. … At 19 years old, she started fighting the top fighters in the Midwest. … She was someone everyone knew was going to go somewhere and end up in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship),” Bjornberg said (via StarTribune).
Shalie Lipp was 3-2 as an amateur fighter and started her amateur career 2-0 with a pair of decision victories. She then suffered a submission loss to Cheyanne Bowers before picking up another decision win. After the decision win, she dropped a decision to Alex Apodaca in October before being scheduled to face Natalie Gage on May 20.
The crash is still under investigation by the Police as they look to determine what caused the accident to happen.
