Former UFC Fighter Rodrigo De Lima Killed Following Altercation With Rideshare Driver

Former UFC fighter Rodrigo de Lima was killed Sunday in a fatal Uber incident that somehow does not involve the company’s new self-driving brigade. According to reports, de Lima had an argument and “altercation” with Uber driver Jefferson Roger Maciel Barata, which ended with de Lima leaving Barata’s vehicle on foot near a gas station in Belem, Brazil. The conflict apparently did not end there, per MMA Fighting:

UFC welterweight Michel Prazeres, a longtime friend and teammate of “Monstro”, told MMA Fighting on Monday morning that the 26-year-old fighter was inside a car with a few friends when he started arguing with the driver.

The driver allegedly stopped the car, Prazeres said, and they got in an altercation before the man drove away, came back and allegedly hit de Lima from behind with his car.

Police are reportedly looking for Barata, who allegedly fled the scene immediately after running de Lima down. According to a report from Oliberal, de Lima was in Belem training in jiu-jitsu ahead of a pair of fight events in Kazakhstan this spring. He fought twice for UFC, in 2014 and 2015, losing both matches, and had his most recent fight in June 2018, at Shooto Brazil 85. De Lima was reportedly hoping to join Brazil’s Military Police, which would give him a steady income to support his wife and two children, and allow him to jump-start his fighting career.