Rodrigo De Lima, the renowned Brazilian MMA fighter, has died at the age of 28 following a hit-and-run in his homeland. De Lima is survived by his wife and two children. De Lima’s sad death was confirmed in a report from Brazilian newspaper, O Liberal.
The O Liberal article says that De Lima was traveling with friends when his group got into an argument with another motorist. At some point, De Lima exited the car and the motorist, an Uber driver, drove away. The newspaper says that shortly afterward, the driver returned and hit De Lima from behind. The incident occurred in the Brazilian city of Belem. The suspect has been named as Jefferson Roger Maciel Barata.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Michel Prazeres, a teammate of De Lima’s, said that the slain fighter was survived by his wife and two children.
According to De Lima’s Sherdog profile, he last fought in June 2018 in a submission loss to Luiz Fabiano at Shooto Brazil 85. That bout was the co-main event of the card. In 2014 and 2015, De Lima fought twice for the UFC. Both bouts ended in losses to Neil Magny and Efrain Escudero respectively. During his MMA career, De Lima went by the moniker “Monstro.”
