Multiple sources have confirmed that well-regarded MMA coach Shawn Tompkins has passed away at the age of 37. He was found dead Sunday morning in Canada, where he was traveling with members of his Team Tompkins stable. As UFC vet John Gunderson put it, Tompkins “didn’t wake up.” No other details on Tompkins’s death are immediately available.

Tompkins’s wife Emilie — the sister of UFC lightweight Sam Stout — released a statement last night from their home in Las Vegas:

“Team Tompkins thanks everyone for all of the condolences that have come in since the tragic news of ‘The Coach’s’ death. Shawn would be touched beyond words by the outpouring of love from the MMA community. Sam Stout, Chris Horodecki, Mark Hominick, Kekoa Quipolta, Mr. and Mrs. Tompkins and I thank you for the respect you have shown us during this trying time. Shawn loved MMA and he considered all of you family. We will miss our Coach very much.”

Though his own MMA career was less than successful, Tompkins found his calling as a trainer, and helped launch the careers of Canadian MMA stars like Mark Hominick, Sam Stout, and Chris Horodecki. In 2007, the Ontario native began to gain broader recognition as the coach of the IFL’s Los Angeles Anacondas team, which led to a coaching residency at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Tompkins left XC in 2009 and moved to the TapouT Training Center, where he coached until his death.

Recently, Tompkins and Sam Stout had led an anti-bullying drive in Canada.

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