UFC Veteran Rodrigo Goiana de Lima Killed by Uber Driver in Hit-and-Run Incident
Former Ultimate Fighting Championships competitor Rodrigo Goiana de Lima is dead at 28 years old after an altercation with an Uber driver in Belem, Brazil, according to multiple reports.
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After the group exited the vehicle and headed toward a gas station, the driver accelerated and ran over de Lima. The incident occurred at approximately 9 p.m. local time on Sunday. Current UFC talent Michel Prazeres, a longtime friend of de Lima, confirmed the death to MMAFighting.com.
Zezao Trator, one of de Lima’s jiu-jitsu students, told OLiberal.com that he saw his instructor’s body being removed from the scene of the hit-and-run.
“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 said (translation via MMAjunkie.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.”
According to the UOL report, local police deputy Eduardo Rollo says the suspect has been identified but an arrest warrant has not yet been issued.
De Lima last fought in June 2018, when he submitted Luiz Fabiano in the opening stanza at Shooto Brazil 85. “Monstro” went 0-2 during a brief UFC stint from 2014 to 2015, falling to Neil Magny by knockout at UFC Fight Night 43 and to Efrain Escudero via decision at UFC Fight Night 60. He was 9-3-1 over the course of a pro career that began in 2004.
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