A northwest Louisiana firefighter and professional mixed martial arts fighter died Saturday after a tire he was maintaining on a fire truck exploded.
The South Bossier Parish Fire District No. 2 said 28-year-old Jessie Henry died at one the district’s stations around 9 a.m. Saturday while working on the tire. Henry was airlifted to a local hospital, where he later died.
Family members told KSLA-TV that a tire sensor hit Henry in the head. Henry had been a firefighter in the district for four years, relatives said. He served in the U.S. Army before that. He is survived by his 9-year-old daughter.
After an eight-fight amateur career, Henry made his professional MMA debut in November for regional promotion American Kombat Alliance (AKA), based in Louisiana. Following a loss to Donovan Beard in his debut, Henry rallied for back-to-back victories over Carlos Hurtado and Andy Carrington. He most recently competed at AKA 15 in May, when he was submitted by Craig Grove. His professional record was 2-2.
A GoFundMe drive has been started for Henry’s daughter, Karmen, and to help with funeral costs.
This story was first published by the Associated Press with additional MMA reporting from MMA Junkie’s Nolan King.
