Duke Roufus, Former Kickboxer and MMA Coach, Dies at Age 55

Duke Roufus, former professional kickboxer and mixed martial arts coach, has died at the age of 55.

Scott Joffe, a friend and business partner, announced Roufus' death in a post on Instagram:

"Rest in Paradise my friend. We accomplished many many great things together and helped countless people change their life for the better. As I always told you, thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to be part of your life and accomplishments. We soldier on together with one goal in mind, to continue to bring victory and honor to the Roufus name."

Per TMZ Sports, Roufus died in his sleep on Thursday.

Gavin Porter of UFC.com described Roufus as "the Duke of MMA" because of his influence felt throughout the sport, including his work training past and current stars like Anthony Pettis, Tyron Woodley and Maycee Barber.

Roufus also worked with CM Punk during his foray into mixed martial arts. The WWE superstar paid tribute to his former coach.

"Walking up in Japan trying to process the news," Punk wrote on Instagram. "It'll take a while. You made me a better person, coach."

Prior to working as a trainer in mixed martial arts, Roufus had a successful kickboxing career. He was 36-8-1 in 45 professional bouts, having won the WKA North American championship, WKA, IKF, ISKA, KICK and WAKO world super heavyweight titles.

Roufus also won bronze in the men's 84 kg light-contact event at the 1991 WAKO World Championships in London.