Dillon Cleckler considered Justin Thornton not only an opponent but a friend. The two Mississippi-based fighters competed against each other twice – once in MMA in 2013 and once in bare-knuckle boxing in this past August. Cleckler won by first-round knockout on both occasions, but the second finish resulted in severe injury and ultimately Thornton’s death. Cleckler caught him with a right hand, and Thornton fell to the canvas face first just 18 seconds into the fight. Thornton was taken out of the ring on a stretcher and reportedly had been hospitalized since the fight
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