Former TUF 12 contestant Dane Sayers confirmed dead after body is pulled from the Red River in Fargo

Former TUF 12 contestant Dane Sayers has been confirmed dead after his body was pulled from the Red River in Fargo on Saturday.

The cause of Sayer’s death remains unknown at this time, but local radio station WZFG released that Dane’s body had been pulled from the Red River in Fargo. Details from the autopsy have not been released to the public.

BREAKING: Fargo Police say 33-year-old Dane Sayers was the man pulled from the Red River Saturday, June 5th. Sayers was a professional MMA Fighter out of Moorhead. An autopsy has been performed, and results are pending #wdaynewsfirst

— AM 1100 The Flag WZFG (@theflagwzfg) June 7, 2021

“BREAKING: Fargo Police say 33-year-old Dane Sayers was the man pulled from the Red River Saturday, June 5th. Sayers was a professional MMA Fighter out of Moorhead. An autopsy has been performed, and results are pending.”

Sayers was best known by fight fans for his appearance on Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. The Fargo native went 1-1 under the tutelage of UFC legend Georges St-Pierre on TUF 12, submitting Ariel Sexton before dropping a decision to Sako Chivitchian, which knocked him out of the tournament.

‘Red Horse’ had most recently competed in mixed martial arts under the LFA banner in April of 2018.

A family member of Dane’s issued the following statement to MMA Fighting:

“It is with a heavy heart we announce the tragic passing of Dane Sayers. Nicknamed ‘Red Horse’ for his proud Native roots, Dane is known to combat sports around the world for his successful mixed martial arts career. Dane’s record as a professional MMA combatant is an impressive 12-4. He was introduced to the larger MMA world with his participation on The Ultimate Fighter 12 in 2010.”

Following his appearance on TUF 12, Dane Sayers returned to the regional scene where he amassed a record of 5-3.

Sayers final combat sports appearance would occur in Bare Knuckle Fighting where he suffered a first round TKO loss to Josh Dyer under the Valor FC banner.

Are thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Dane, may he rest in peace.