A man has been charged with manslaughter this morning over the death of MMA fighter Liufau Vake in Auckland last month.
He was one of the four men who appeared in Auckland District Court today charged in relation to the fatal incident on Symonds St in the early hours of Sunday, May 16.
It is alleged Vake fell after being hit from behind while he was heading home after a night out in the CBD.
The identifies of the four men will stay secret until June 23 and their cases have been transferred to the High Court.
As we reported previously, one of the men was charged with common assault, another with two counts of assaulting with intent to injure, another charged with wounding with intent and injuring with intent, and another is also charged with common assault.
Three of the men are aged 29. The fourth is a 32-year-old.
Vake’s last fought before he died was in late April. It was part of the Undisputed Fight Series event in Wairarapa, where he won by TKO in the first round in the card’s main event.
He had a 2-0-0 win-loss-draw record as a middleweight MMA fighter.
His death has been described as a great loss to the mixed martial art community as Vake had been seen as a promising and rising start fighter.
