Yahoo Sports Former UFC fighter Rodrigo de Lima killed after argument with rideshare driver
Ex-UFC fighter Rodrigo de Lima was killed in Belém, Brazil on Sunday after getting into an argument with his rideshare driver.
ESPN confirmed the 26-year-old’s death with Brazilian authorities. According to those authorities, de Lima got into an argument with Jefferson Roger Maciel, the man who has been identified as the car’s driver. De Lima left the car, and Maciel then hit de Lima from behind.
Maciel left the scene, and police are searching for him.
MMA Fighting spoke with Michel Prazeres, a UFC welterweight and a longtime friend of de Lima’s, about the incident. Prazeres confirmed that de Lima got into an argument with the driver, but also said that de Lima was in the car with several friends when it happened.
According to Prazeres, the driver stopped the car and the two men allegedly got into an altercation. The driver drove away, but came back a short time later and hit de Lima with his car. Prazeres didn’t say whether de Lima’s friends got out of the car with him or if they remained in the vehicle.
De Lima was married with two children. He used the nickname “Monstro,” and was 9-3-1 overall. He fought twice for the UFC, losing to Neil Magny in 2014 and to Efrain Escudero in 2015.
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