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Several MMA fighters like former UFC champions Charles Oliveira and Anderson Silva recently took to social media to pay tribute to Diego Braga after the MMA veteran passed away after falling victim to organized crime in Brazil.
Oliveira uploaded a story to his Instagram account where he expressed his condolences to Braga's family, saying:
"My condolences to the entire family. God put [Diego Braga] in a good place." [via Google Translate]
Silva uploaded a post to his Instagram account that featured a picture of the 44-year-old. In the caption, 'The Spider' wrote a heartfelt message and condemned the authorities for the circumstances that led to Braga's death. He said:
"A hard-working guy who, like many others, chases his dreams, bought his motorcycle with his own effort, which was stolen, and had his rights violated. While those who have the power to change normalize violence act as if they could do nothing, for them it's just another statistic... But this same violence that you fought so hard ended up taking your life, leaving a huge void in our hearts. [Deigo Braga's] absence is a painful reminder of how much we still need to fight to change the reality around us."
Bellator champion Patricio Freire also uploaded an Instagram post paying tribute to the fellow Brazilian. In the caption 'Pitbull' spoke highly of the MMA veteran and condemned the people who were behind his murder.
Diego Braga once fought Charles Oliveira in MMA
Several years ago, Diego Braga and UFC superstar Charles Oliveira competed against each other in an MMA fight. The contest took place at Predator FC 9 way back in March 2008. The bout was a short-lived affair as 'Do Bronx' made quick work of his opponent and finished him via knockout in the first round.
Braga had a professional MMA career that lasted nearly 16 years. The 44-year-old made his MMA debut in October 2003 and his last fight took place in July 2019.
During that time, the Brazilian competed in 32 professional bouts and emerged victorious in 23 of them. One impressive thing to note is that 18 out of Braga's 23 victories came via finishes, with nine knockouts and nine submissions on his record.
In addition to that, the Brazilian ended his MMA career on a high note by going out on a six-fight win streak.
