MMA fighter and UFC veteran Rodrigo Goiano de Lima has been killed in Brazil after an altercation with an Uber driver.
According to reports by Brazil’s G1 and UOL websites, de Lima was run over by the driver at around 9 p.m. on Sunday in Belem. De Lima, a 28-year-old jiu-jitsu teacher and fighter who had two UFC fights between 2014 and 2015, was a longtime friend and raised as a brother to UFC fighter Michel Prazeres. MMA Fighting spoke to Prazeres, who confirmed the death this morning.
OLiberal.com heard from one of de Lima’s friends and students, Zezao Trator, who saw de Lima’s body being removed and said he’d heard about what happened from witnesses.
“Everyone who was there said Rodrigo had an argument with the Uber driver and that, after that, the driver got in the car and ran over my friend.” Trator told the outlet. “I haven’t been able to grasp this yet. (Prazeres’) mom, Socorro, who’s also our mom, called in desperation last night saying an accident with Rodrigo had happened. I was about ready to go to bed. I just put on some clothes and went to see what happened. When I arrived there, I saw it all. It was very sad. It hasn’t sunk in yet. He was at my place to talk about jiu-jitsu on Friday.”
According to UOL, de Lima was in the car with four people when an argument broke out. They cite a witness account that said the driver got annoyed at one of the passenger’s tone and asked for silence. De Lima then allegedly disapproved of the reaction and punched the driver. The report says the passagers left the car and went toward a gas station, and that’s when the driver sped up and ran over de Lima, who died immediately.
The report cites the deputy in charge of the local civil police, Eduardo Rollo, who said the suspect had been identified, but that there wasn’t an order for his arrest yet. According to both G1 and OLiberal.com, the body had yet to undergo a autopsy to confirm the official cause of death.
De Lima was a Jungle Fight champion who fought at UFC Fight Night 43 and UFC Fight Night 60, losing to veterans Neil Magny and Efrain Escudero. He’d most recently fought at Shooto Brazil 85, last June, and won via first-round submission. De Lima was married and had two kids.
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