MMA fighter Fau Vake, 25, has died nearly a week after he was admitted to hospital following an assault while he waited for a taxi in Auckland.
Vake was assaulted on Symonds St in central Auckland in the early hours last Sunday morning and taken to Auckland Hospital in critical condition.
Four men were charged over the incident on a number of offences ranging from common assault to injuring with intent.
Police confirmed this afternoon further charges were to be filed in light of Vake's death. They also said they were not seeking anyone else in relation to the incident, however, they still wished to hear from any witnesses of the incident.
In a statement this morning, City Kickboxing confirmed his passing and said the rising athlete was a much-loved father, son and brother.
"It is with inexplicable sadness almost seven days to the hour after his hospital admission, Fau’s fight to find his way back to us ended," the statement said.
"At this tragic time, the Vake family and City Kickboxing ask for time to grieve and reflect on the loss of Fau, a father, a son and a much loved brother to us all.
"We will speak when the time is right to ensure Fau’s loss is not forgotten, but for now please respect our privacy."
Vake was considered a promising up-and-coming fighter, and had a 2-0-0 record in his young professional MMA career.
He was also a friend and regular sparring partner of Israel Adesanya.
Earlier this week, Adesanya said there needed to be harsher punishments for "coward punchers".
“In the past decade there have been numerous deaths from punches thrown when people are not looking.
“Given the massive publicity these crimes have received, no one is dumb enough to think there is not a serious risk of death.
“There is no excuse, it should be considered attempted murder or murder.”
City Kickboxing founder Eugene Bareman agreed, telling 1 NEWS the issue was all too common, referencing an incident in 2012 that left Adesanya himself with a broken jaw, as well as other incidents against fellow gym members since.
"Our gym only represents a small cross-section of society so what's happening in the wider reaches of society if in our gym we know of a couple of instances of this happening?"
In a statement, Bareman said he and his team couldn't understand why coward punches hadn't been addressed sooner and his team couldn't fathom why a 2018 bill was rejected by Parliament to create an offence for the act.
That questioning and those feelings come from a place of understanding, Bareman told 1 NEWS earlier this week.
"We understand, more than your average person, that if you go up behind someone and hit them while they're unaware there's only one thing you're trying to do — you're trying to inflict as much harm as you can on that person as you possibly can and, ultimately, what you're trying to do is kill them.
"That's your intent when you go up behind someone and hit them with your first or an object, there's no other way around it," Bareman said.
"The type of people who do this are scumbags, they're the bottom-feeders of society and there will come a time, and maybe it's now or it's in the future, when your punishment will fit your crime."
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