Elias Michael Theodorou was a professional mixed martial artist born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He was of Greek descent and his fight name was The Spartan.

From 2014 to 2019, Theodorou competed 11 times in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is based in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. He was 6’1″ tall and he competed in the middleweight division.

Theodorou suffered from nerve damage in his upper extremities after an accident that left his hand broken in two places and fractured in four. He used cannabis to treat the pain and discomfort from bilateral neuropathy, a nerve condition resulting from the accident.

After graduating from Meadowvale Secondary School in Mississauga, Theodorou studied creative advertising at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. On June 17, 2011, he made his professional MMA debut at the Hard Knocks Fighting Championship event “HKFC: School of Hard Knocks 12” in Calgary, Alberta, Canada where he defeated Tanner Tolman via technical knockout.
2. On April 6, 2012, he made his Bellator MMA debut at “Bellator 64” in Windsor, Ontario where he defeated Rich Lictawa via technical knockout.
3. He played Scotty Furmanek in “The Listener” Season 4 episode 7 “Caged In”, which aired on CTV on July 17, 2013.
4. On April 16, 2014, he defeated Sheldon Westcott via technical knockout in the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs Australia” middleweight tournament, making him the first Canadian MMA fighter to win “The Ultimate Fighter”.
5. On October 4, 2014, he made his UFC debut at “UFC Fight Night 54” in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada where he defeated Bruno Santos via unanimous decision.
6. He and his then girlfriend Max Altamuro competed on “The Amazing Race Canada 3“, which aired on CTV from July 8, 2015 to September 23, 2015. They were the first team to be eliminated from the race.
7. On December 10, 2015, he lost via unanimous decision to Thiago Santos at “UFC Fight Night 80” in Las Vegas, which marked his first professional MMA loss.
8. He played Ashley in the 2017 comedy film “Clusterf*ck“.
9. On March 24, 2018, he made history as the first ever Invicta Fighting Championships ring boy at “Invicta FC 28” in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
10. On May 4, 2019, he lost via unanimous decision to Derek Brunson at “UFC Fight Night 151” in Ottawa, Ontario. It was his last UFC fight. Aired on July 13, 2019, “Star Foodies! Greece Edition” Season 1 episode 19 featured Christina-Laia Vlahos‘s interview with him about his MMA career, training methods and eating habits.
11. In January 2020, he became the first MMA fighter to receive a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for medical cannabis, which was granted by the British Columbia Athletic Commission.
12. In May 2021, he became the first professional athlete to receive a TUE for medical cannabis in the U.S. On December 18, 2021, he defeated Bryan Baker via unanimous decision at “Colorado Combat Club 10” in Greeley, Colorado, USA, which improved his professional MMA record to 19 wins and 3 losses. It was his last MMA fight.
13. On September 11, 2022, he passed away after privately battling Stage 4 liver cancer. He was 34.