Derek's Story

Dear Friend,

Derek was not your average 28 year old. Derek “The Scarecrow” Wilkerson was a force to be reckoned with in the cage, on the mats, and in life.
He had a heart of pure gold not only was he a loving and caring person, He would give the shirt off his own back to anyone that needed it. He was the type of person to go above and beyond to help other people.

In 2013 he met his girlfriend, Sarah Spaulding, whom he fell in love with. She is a highly trained and experienced personal trainer. She had moved to Utah after the loss of her little brother to suicide the year before. He and Derek grew up together and he dedicated a fight to honor Cameron Spaulding. Derek was amazing at what he did and had just had a 2 loss streak in cage fights when he and Sarah met. After training with his girlfriend 3 days a week on top of the excellent MMA training, he came back to crush his next two opponents in the first round. Derek and Sarah were inseparable.

Unfortunately, the dojo that had been home to Derek for many years, closed its doors. He was devastated but still determined and he and Sarah moved to St.Louis June of 2015 to give Derek more opportunity to shine in the MMA world. He became a jiu jitsu instructor for Hahn’s Extreme Fitness and Martial Arts where they also encouraged him as an athlete by providing hours where he could hone his own skills as well as welcoming him as family.

Derek was driven from his young adult life to become a UFC Fighter. He was in the dojo 4 days a week, 2 hours a night (a lot of the time 4 hours to help with the kids), and this went on for 8 years. He was also as dedicated to his strength and conditioning and trained with his girlfriend 3 days a week. Derek took overall expert division in no gi and silvers in gi at NAGA Las Vegas in 2013 and 2014 along with dozens of top 3 medals in grappling tournaments across the South West. Prior to his move he won the bantamweight belt from the Rocky Mountain Fight Championships in March 2015, where he had the most fans in attendance for one fighter by a long shot.

He was a champion to fans and loved by everyone. Not only did he love life, he always came into the Dojo with a smile on his face. Saying that Derek loved MMA was an understatement. He lived, breathed, and bled MMA. He was in the dojo everyday training new techniques and trying to become the best that he could be.

In March of 2015, He received his black belt from Martial Arts Hall of Famer, Master Mitch Halsell out of Unbroken Circle in Vernal Utah and received an honorary black belt from Rigan Machado and Antonio La Salandra after he passed.

Derek didn't just want to do MMA for himself, more than anything he wanted to help kids after making it big in The UFC.

On October 30th 2015 everything changed. The world grew colder for everyone that ever knew Derek. He shot himself in front of his girlfriend in an out of control rage. He was not in his right mind and a week prior to this incident he sustained a head injury. This was not his first in 8 years. We believe what contributed to the loss of this beautiful man, was CTE. Being dedicated and loving his team mates, he continued to spar with his new brother, Rashard Lovelace. Rashard had a Bellator fight in two weeks and Derek wouldn’t step down as his training partner so close to the fight. That was Derek.

In trying to come in terms with what happened as well as carry on Derek’s legacy of helping our fellow humans, Sarah Spaulding and Katrina Cox started the Derek Wilkerson Foundation. Our goal is to educate people on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE. Did you know that there is currently no test for on the living? CTE is a diagnosis for dead people. There have been many documented cases of CTE leading to grim circumstances including suicide and homicide. You may have heard of this condition mainly in pro football players. The awareness of this issue has not spread to MMA or to young people in contact sports, when prevention needs to start.

Sarah will never get to hug her boyfriend again, escape from his D'arce on Submit Your Girlfriend Sunday’s, or hear the words “I love you”. Trina will never get to spar with him again or practice an armbar with him, but we can and will work alongside you and your gym.

I urge you to get involved because together we can make a diffrence. The proceeds from DWF will go to researching CTE to find a way to detect it before it's too late.

DWF's intentions are to empower fighters and athletes in the mixed martial art world. Our goal is to educate people on preventable injuries, emphasizing on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

Currently, there is no definitive diagnostic test for CTE on the living. There have been many documented cases of CTE leading to suicide and homicide. The proceeds from DWF will go to researching CTE to find a way to detect it before it's too late.

The DWF will also provide education and awareness to MMA gyms, as well as supplying students/gyms with proper safety equipment and scholarships to MMA facilities for underprivileged children.

The organization plan's to collaborate with the MMA community, gyms, fighters/athletes, instructors, and physicians to provide training, education and awareness.

Suicide and CTE are preventable. MMA is a great forum to promote a healthy active lifestyle with discipline and reward. The DFW was founded on Derek’s love for the sport that contributed to his death.