First Official UFC Cutman Leon Tabbs Passes Away

Leon Tabbs, who served as the first official cutman for the UFC, has passed away. Bruce Tabbs has confirmed that his father passed away on Friday evening at the age of eighty-six after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

“Our father is our hero,” Bruce told the outlet. “He lived a simple life enjoying it to the fullest and deserved all he earned, and more, and earned all he received. Family, boxing, and friends and laughter were his life.”

Tabbs was a longtime boxer who trained fellow servicemen in the sport during his seven year stint in the Navy. He worked as a police officer in Philadelphia as well as a boxing trainer, and had a part in the first Rocky film. He went on to be the cutman for Bernard Hopkins and eventually worked with the UFC, serving as cutman for UFC 1 and working with the company through UFC on FX 4 in June of 2012.

MMA personalities took to Twitter to react to Tabbs death, as you can see below:

RIP #legend pic.twitter.com/GMxj18HqSy

— Dana White (@danawhite) June 16, 2018

So sad to hear that Leon Tabbs has passed on. Leon was an original. He was a cutman at UFC 1 and even had a role in the original Rocky. He stayed with the UFC for 20 years! It was an honor to know and work with you Leon. God has another warrior angel guarding his throne tonight

— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) June 16, 2018

Sad to announce that my friend and “Godfather of Cutmen”, Leon Tabbs has passed away. The original cutman from UFC 1, Leon set the stage for all cutmen to follow. We shared many great moments together and those memories will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/mqakTjvNxL

— Jacob Stitch Duran (@StitchDuran) June 16, 2018

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends and fans of Mr. Tabbs.