MMA Fighter Diego Braga Murdered By Gang In Brazil

Trainer and former mixed martial arts fighter Diego Braga Alves vanished from sight after entering the sketchy neighborhood of Morro do Banco in Rio de Janeiro to attempt to retrieve a stolen motorbike from his residence.

MMA Fighter Diego Braga Murdered By Gang In Brazil

The 44-year-old fighter’s body was found by the police hours later; it appeared that he had been killed.

According to Brazilian news source G1, Diego Braga, 44, who competed in 32 fights throughout the course of his 16-year professional career, was discovered dead on Monday on the streets of Rio de Janeiro’s Morro do Banco neighborhood.

Gabriel Braga, a PFL finalist and Brazilian MMA featherweight fighter, is the son of Braga.

“You will always be in my heart and I will continue to honor you until the end, eternal gratitude for everything,” the younger Braga wrote on Instagram, confirming his father’s death. “One day I will hug you again, take care of me as you always did, I love you.”

Pedro Paulo Guedes, the notorious drug lord, is the leader of the Comando Vermelho, a group of cocaine traffickers suspected of murdering Diego Braga.

As a professional Muay Thai and mixed martial arts fighter, Diego Braga competed against opponents like Charles do Bronx, Miltinho Vieira, Adriano Martins, and Iliarde Santos who went on to become UFC competitors.

In 2019, he concluded his professional career with a record of 23 victories, 8 defeats, and 1 knockout.

On Sunday morning, Braga shared CCTV footage of two criminals robbing his garage in the Muzema residential neighborhood of a red and black motorcycle.

In his farewell Instagram post, Braga begged, “Please share and help me find these bums and get my bike back!!”

After that, the Brazilian mixed martial artist set out to find the lost bike, looking through several neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro until he came across some members of the Comando Vermelho criminal group in the Morro do Banco slum.

After retiring, Braga concentrated on his work as an MMA instructor and coach for his team, Tropa Thai. He also taught poor kids in favelas and stood in his son’s corner during fights, according to MMAfighting.com.

In a social media homage to Braga, the Tropa Thai crew said, “Unacceptable for all of us who have had the pleasure of hanging out with and learning from this example of a man!”

 

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