Man Arrested After Confessing to Killing Former UFC Fighter Rodrigo de Lima

A man is in custody and has confessed to killing former UFC fighter Rodrigo de Lima. Brazilian news website UOL reports that Jefferson Roger Maciel Barata was arrested and confessed to hitting de Lima, which resulted in his passing.

According to the report, Barata was working as an Uber driver and asked de Lima and three others to “bring the tone of their voices down.” Barata says de Lima punched him and left the car with the other occupants. The Uber driver then drove away, but instead of reporting the incident to police he decided to return and “scare” de Lima. He hit De Lima with his car, which resulted in the fighter’s death.

“I’ve always thought of a way to raise my family and not let my children grow up without a father,” Barata said. “I feel for his family, I regret it, I’ve already asked God for forgiveness. It was one of the things I feared the most: Taking someone’s life. I started working in this job to have more time in the church, I became a director for the youth, teaching music in the church, and this ended up happening.”

Barata will be charged with murder over the death. De Lima fought twice in the UFC, losing to Neil Magny and Efrain Escudero.