Former Strikeforce competitor Lumumba
Sayers has been arrested after allegedly killing a man to
avenge the death of his son, according to a report from Denver7.
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According to an arrest affadavit obtained by the network, Sayers
was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly approached a man and
shot him in the head at a child’s birthday party at Pioneer Park in
Commerce City, Colorado. The victim was identified as Malcolm
Watson, who was believed to have been a friend of the man accused
of killing Sayers’ son last year. According to witness accounts,
Sayers allegedly walked back to the man’s body and attempted to
shoot him again, but the gun “jammed.” Witnesses also claimed that
Sayers removed a set of keys from Watson’s pocket and attempted to
plant a gun near his body.
Tyrell Braxton was arrested in connection with the death of Sayers’
son, but the murder case has since been dismissed, according to the
report. The exact nature of the relationship between Watson and
Braxton is not revealed in the arrest affadavit.
“This murder was probably in retaliation or revenge,” reads a
witness account in the affadavit.
Sayers and his son, Lumumba Sayers Jr., were both anti-gun
advocates who focused on stopping violence in their community. The
elder Sayers started a boxing gym in Aurora, Colorado, called Heavy
Hands Heavy Hearts. A person identified as a community leader told
Denver7 that Sayers was still “in a dark place” following his son’s
death.
Sayers went 6-5 during a professional MMA career that ran from 2009
to 2014. He went 2-2 under the Strikeforce banner, notably facing
the likes of Derek
Brunson, Scott Smith
and Anthony
Smith during his tenure. More recently, Sayers competed under
the BKFC banner this past May, defeating Jeremy
Morrison via first-round stoppage.