Tyler East, a talented but tormented wrestler and MMA fighter was shot and killed on Monday evening in his hometown of Los Lunas.
According to a New Mexico State Police news release, East died as the result of a domestic dispute. He was shot, police said, by a man who had witnessed him having shot East’s girlfriend. East was dragging the woman out of a Los Lunas residence.
The former MMA fighter was declared dead at the scene. The woman was transported to a hospital in Albuquerque where she is being treated for the injuries and is in a stable condition.
According to the police, the person who fired shots at East fled before officers arrived at the scene. The investigation remains open, police said.
From a young age, East’s life was a volatile mix of athletic success and brushes with the law. Violence off the mat or out of the cage often was his downfall.
He won his first of two New Mexico state heavyweight wrestling titles as a freshman for Los Lunas High School in 2006, the second while competing for Belen High School in 2008.
In 2009, he pleaded no contest to a charge of aggravated battery.
As an MMA fighter, East compiled a 15-6 record and won the King of the Cage heavyweight title in 2011. His older brother, Cody, won the same title two years later.
Tyler East had been idle in the cage since a loss by the first-round knockout to Brian Heden on a Legacy FC card in October 2016.
In 2012, East was arrested after his former girlfriend claimed he was on a “cocaine binge” and physically assaulted her. He was indicted for kidnapping, aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, and bribery of a witness.
East’s most recent court case, in 2019, involved charges of battery upon a peace officer and resisting arrest. Both charges were dropped.
