(via Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Former UFC Fighter Dies After Being Struck By Bus In Brazil
Tragedy has clouded the MMA world, as former UFC fighter Felipe Colares has died at the age of 29.
Colares’ coach, Rodrigo Balbi, told Combate that his fighter was hit by a bus as he was returning from training in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Balbi said that the fire department was able to reach Colares, but he died while being transported to a hospital.
Back in January, Colares' good deed went viral, as he helped stop an alleged robbery in Rio. A man allegedly snatched a woman's phone on the street, and Colares used his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills to subdue the alleged thief. Colares took to his Instagram account to share his side of the story (translation via DeepL).
"On our way back from training this afternoon we came across an alleged assault on a woman on the beach at Recreio dos Bandeirantes. I returned the car, and went to the girl to investigate the situation, and in fact it was an assault.
"I and my friends @_matheusbjj and @atletayurenascment returned the car, and saw the boy. When we saw that he was unarmed, we intervened and managed to immobilize the criminal only using the jiu-jitsu techniques of my master @kennyadias, leader of @blacknorte.oficial and also the GPCI that I have learned from the master @sylviobehring and @ericapaes5 the program @empoderadas.rj.
"We managed to capture the criminal, recovered the victim's cell phone, and today we have one less robber on the streets."
Colares had a pro MMA record of 11-4, according to Tapology, with seven of those victories coming by way of submission and two via knockout. After being released by the UFC, Colares secured a first-round submission victory over Alioune Nahaye back in February.
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