MMA vet Kimo Leopoldo is suing the popular entertainment website TMZ.  Back in July, media reports had surfaced, saying that Leopoldo had died due to complications from a heart attack in Costa Rica.  For most media outlets, Leopoldo's death was just a rumor.

However, TMZ reported that the death had been confirmed.

In reality, Leopoldo's publicist had combated the reports that Leopoldo had died.  Kevin Iole, a Yahoo sports writer, posted via Twitter that he had spoken to Leopoldo's publicist, who said that Leopoldo was not in Costa Rica, but was in California, and alive - which was true.

However, due to the "confirmation" by TMZ, other sources began stating that Leopoldo's death was, in fact, true as well.  While TMZ has since taken the article down - and other media sources have printed corrections - TMZ has not printed a retraction.  Their website still shows other articles posted about Leopoldo's death.

MMALawBlog reported that Leopoldo's lawyer, Stephen Doniger, had contacted TMZ to try to get a retraction and to see if the two parties could settle the issue outside of court.  TMZ has apparently ignored Doniger's attempts at communication.  They have not sent any word of a reply, nor has the website posted any retractions.

Currently, there is a California State lawsuit in the works.  It accuses TMZ of many acts, including defamation.  Doniger and Leopoldo have submitted an open letter to various MMA blogs and have been making a media tour in order to address the TMZ fiasco.

Leopoldo had been arrested earlier this year in February for being in possession of a controlled substance.  He and his lawyer are worried that the rumors of a heart attack will be related back to the drugs.

Leopoldo holds a 10-7-1 MMA record, debuting in the Octagon at UFC 3, where he lost his first fight to Royce Gracie.  He later defeated Tank Abbott, drew against Dan Severn, and suffered two losses to Ken Shamrock.