Medet Zheenaliev drowned Tuesday in Lake Issyk-Kul after he and a friend went into the water to help rescue four girls who were swimming there, one of whom was reportedly pulled under by the current. The 30-year-old never resurfaced.

Zheenaliev had been spotted by the girls at the lake in Kyrgyzstan before the rescue attempt turned fatal. Lake Issyk-Kul is the ninth-deepest lake in the world and reaches 2,192 feet, a depth that helps explain why a swimmer lost to the water can be so hard to recover.

The death closed the life of a man whose professional MMA career was brief but eventful. Zheenaliev fought four times as a professional and finished with two wins and two losses, a record that included a submission win over Vladimir Kravchuk by armbar in 2:08 on Sept. 23, 2017, and a first-round knockout of Shamil Temirkhanov six months later at Battle on Volga 3.

His run also included a second-round loss to Akhmadkhan Bokov by rear-naked choke on April 7, 2018, before doctors stopped his fight against Makkasharip Zaynukov after round one at GFC 16 and Zaynukov was awarded the victory. After that, Zheenaliev disappeared from the fight scene for nearly 17 months, but his last moments came far from the cage, in a lake that can swallow even strong swimmers quickly.

What happened in Kyrgyzstan was simple and brutal. A fighter who knew how to keep moving under pressure saw four girls in danger and went in to help. He did not come back out.