RIP Charles "Mask" Lewis

RIP CHARLES 'MASK' LEWIS

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By: Ron ' The Yacman' Yacovetti

Tragic news rocked the MMA world early this morning as a fatal car crash claimed the life of an MMA icon, Charles "Mask" Lewis.

Regardless of what you knew of or felt about the TapOut Crew, their passion for the sport of MMA remains, as always, unquestionable and undeniable.

Charles Lewis, whose look branded him as "Mask" was as committed to Mixed Martial Arts as any athlete in the sport.

Many new fans who came to MMA and were introduced to Charles and the Crew kind of accepted that they were a part of the fabric that made up the MMA culture already.

And, while that is the truth, Charles Lewis and TapOut dedicated love, blood, sweat and tears to it when it was not an 'in' thing to do, before MMA went as mainstream as it has gone thus far. Only those who truly willing to pour themselves into MMA would do so at that point in its history.

As a result, Charles 'Mask' Lewis and TapOut helped bolster the sport of MMA and usher in one of the biggest clothing booms associated with any sport in history.

The loss is being felt by more and more friends, family and fans, as the news which confirmed the deadly accident in the Newport Beach area of Southern California, which too Charles 'Mask' Lewis much too soon, gradually reaches more of us.

Read more: http://demandmma.com/news/charles-mask-lewis-passes-away/

Also check out my good friend Tracy Lee's photo tribute to Mask:

http://www.combatlifestyle.com/pics/view_album.php?id=1622

-Yacman