Report: Former MMA Fighter Hangs Himself In Jail Following Child Sexual Exploitation Arrest

Travis Fulton, a former MMA fighter who set a record for career professional fights, was found unresponsive in his Linn County Jail cell in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Saturday morning.

During a routine cell check, Fulton was found and transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead, Linn County Sheriff’s Office said, per Sports Illustrated. Investigators believe Fulton committed suicide by hanging himself. 

The 44-year-old has been in Linn County Jail since Feb. 19 when he was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and initially indicted for enticing a girl under the age of 18 to engage in sexual behavior, according to The Gazette. A second underage female victim was later identified as well.

Just a day before he was found unresponsive, Fulton pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography charges, which stemmed from photos found on a flash drive, SI reports.

In 2013, Fulton was accused of getting a 13-year-old girl to perform meditation with him and to remove her clothes except for her underwear, according to court records obtained by The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. The report states he performed a sex act after placing her in a trance.

He admitted to the meditation but denied the sexual act and added he's been accused of rape in the past "because people know who he is." He was also awaiting the outcome of charges from a Sept. 2019 incident in which he was accused of repeatedly punching a woman in the head and threatening to kill her, SI reports.

The death is under investigation and an autopsy will be performed.