Ex-UFC fighter Dennis Hallman house burned down prior to Thanksgiving

(PRESS RELEASE) -- It's been a rough few months for Dennis Hallman, and it seems like things are only getting rougher.

Less than two months after being released from the UFC following a failure to make weight at the UFC on FX 5 event on Oct. 5, the MMA veteran of more than 15 years returned home to find his home in Olympia, Wash., burned to the ground.

No one knows yet what started the Nov. 21 blaze ? the night before Thanksgiving ? but it took with it all of the Hallman family's possessions, leaving the fighter and his four children with nothing but the clothes on their backs, according to Hallman's representatives at Paradigm Sports Management.

Fortunately, nobody was home at the time of the blaze, but it's still the kind of blow that would be difficult to withstand even if you didn't just lose your job amid rumblings of "personal problems" at home. The good news for Hallman is that the MMA community has already begun to rally to his aid.

"Dennis has gone through hell and back within a span of a few weeks," Hallman's manager, Audie Attar, said in a statement emailed to MMAjunkie.com (mmajunkie.com). "This is a time of need for Dennis, and although he's a professional fighter, MMA athletes do not make what the stick and ball pros make in their professional careers. With mounting legal costs fighting for his kids and now this fire, Dennis could use a little help from his friends and from MMA fans all over the world. We all go through trying times in our lives. Help from our friends helps us through those times."

According to Attar, fellow fighter and longtime friend Benji Radach set up a fundraising site at fundrazr.com to aid the Hallman family, and the website currently boasts more than $10,000 in donations from more than 100 contributors. The family is also accepting donations of clothes for Hallman and his four children in the following sizes:

Ryley (15) sizes: 30-32 jeans, adult medium shirt, size 10.5 shoes

Richie (13) size: 30-30 or 16 jeans, youth X-large or adult small shirt, size 8.5 shoes

Jayden (11) sizes: 10 jeans, 10-12 shirts, size 2.5 shoes

Kylar Grace (3) sizes: 4T in everything, size 10 shoes

Dennis: Waist 32, shirt L, size 11 shoes

Clothes, shoes and other items can be mailed to the Hallman family at 8427 Valley Green Ct SE, Olympia, WA 98513-9009. Financial donations can be made online at fundrazr.com.