Former UFC fighter Rodrigo de Lima has been killed in a hit and run incident in his native Brazil yesterday.
Authorities told ESPN that the 26-year old was involved in an altercation with an Uber driver at a gas station in Belem, Brazil.
It's alleged that after he got out of the vehicle, the driver, Jefferson Roger Maciel, hit him from behind before fleeing the scene.
Advert
UFC welterweight Michel Prazeres, who has been described as being like "a brother" to de Lima, told MMA Fighting on Monday morning that "Monstro" was inside a car with a few friends when things escalated with the driver.
Police are currently looking for the driver, while details as to what caused the argument are yet to emerge.
Zezao Trator, a jiu-jitsu student of de Lima's, said he'd heard about what happened from witnesses but saw the removal of the body taking place when he arrived at the scene.
Advert
"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 OLiberal.com
"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."
De Lima is survived by his wife and two children.
Topics: UFC News, MMA News, UFC, Brazil, MMA
