The Brazilian MMA neighborhood mourns the dying of Diego Braga. The 44-year-old MMA veteran was killed by organized crime in Rio de Janeiro, police formally confirmed Monday.
Braga revealed on his social media on Monday morning that he had his motorbike stolen from his storage late Sunday night time. Based on witnesses, Braga determined to go to a favela searching for the car, however was mistaken by members of legal group Comando Vermelho as a member of a rival militia. He was allegedly then killed.
Braga, the chief of Tropa Thai crew in Rio de Janeiro and a martial arts teacher for underprivileged kids in favelas, coached his son Gabriel Braga for his MMA bouts, main the younger prospect to the PFL featherweight finals in 2023. Gabriel misplaced a rematch to Jesus Pinedo within the $1 million finale.
Diego Braga was an energetic MMA fighter between 2003 and 2014, dealing with the likes of Charles Oliveira, Milton Vieira, and Adriano Martins, all of whom ended up competing within the UFC.
Braga coached legendary middleweight Anderson Silva for a number of of his remaining UFC bouts and shared a card together with his son Gabriel at Future MMA 7 in 2019 in what would finally be his retirement bout. Father and son got here out victorious that night time, with Diego ending his profession with an MMA report of 23-8-1, successful 16 of his final 19 appearances.
“My son has cornered me many instances prior to now,” Diego informed MMA Combating previous to the match, “so it is a dream come true for me. He impressed me to struggle once more.”