“Rip Uncle!” – UFC’s Jon Anik Joins Charles Oliveira in Mourning as Anderson Silva’s Ex-coach Diego Braga Falls Prey to Gang Violence in Brazil

The MMA community is saddened to hear the news of Diego Braga’s death. It was reported by multiple sources that the retired MMA fighter and coach was murdered by gang members, who mistook him for a rival gang member, as he ventured into the favelas to retrieve his stolen motorcycle. He was found dead in the streets of Morro do Banco in Rio de Janeiro.

Braga was a well-respected person in the MMA community. He also coached the former UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, and was the coach to his son Gabriel Braga, a PFL finalist. His death led to a lot of MMA personalities sending their support for the Braga Family.

Charles Oliveira and Andeson Silva post heartfelt messages for Diego Braga

Diego Braga’s death had a lot of people in the MMA community mourning the loss. His son, Gabriel Braga uploaded a post on his Instagram channel, with a caption that wrote, “you’ll always be in my heart and I’ll continue to honor you until the end, eternal gratitude for everything, one day I’ll hug you again, take care of me as you always did, I love you.” This sad message to his late father confirmed that Diego was no longer with us.

UFC legend, Anderson Silva also took to Instagram to upload posts honoring and saying goodbye to his fallen friend. In a reel that Silva posted, the caption wrote, “Diego, my brother, if for a moment God forgot that we are cloth puppets and gave us a little more life by your side, we probably wouldn’t say everything we thought, but we would definitely think about everything we said… Therefore, reflecting on what we said, did, and felt, we realize that the moments of history we shared were more great than small. We work, but we also laugh a lot, and we can say that if God granted us a little more life by his side, we would die laughing so much.”

Gabriel Braga’s MMA promotion, the PFL, also paid their tribute to the fallen fighter. And the MMA community chipped in to pay their tributes to Diego Braga in the comments section.

Here are some of the comments from the post.

Former bellator champ, Patricio Pitbull commented on the post writing, “Rest in peace brother”

Gabriel Bonfirm sent his condolences his condolences, writing, “May God comfort the hearts of the Braga family”

Steve Mocco wrote a heartfelt message to the Braga family which wrote, “So sorry for your loss, condolences and prayers for your family.”

Joshua Coninha Silveira gave put out a prayer for the family as he could relate to what the Braga’s were going through. “This hits home and I can’t even imagine what he’s going through… may all the love heal this man and his family”

Jon Anik has put up an emoji showing that he was praying for the Braga Family.

Alex Martinez relayed his condolences writing, “Strength to the family. May Mr. Braga rest in peace”

Magno Machado told the family to stay strong in these hard times, by writing, “So much Cruelty! RIP Uncle! Stay strong family!”

Former UFC lightweight champion and opponent of Diego Braga, Charles Oliveira also sent his message to the Braga family, by uploading a story on his Instagram, that wrote, “My condolences to the whole family”.

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Diego Braga’s MMA career.

Diego Braga had a decent MMA career, with a record of 23-8-1. He had an impressive 18 finishes in his 23 wins, with 9 coming by way of KO/TKO and 9 coming by submission. Braga ended his career with a 6 fight-winning streak, with his last fight being on the same card as his son Gabriel Braga, at Future FC 7 in 2019.

Braga, despite being a decent MMA fighter, was more recognized for being a coach. Braga was a Coach to the UFC legend Anderson Silva and even his son Gabriel Braga who recently became a PFL finalist.

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