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Former UFC fighter Felipe Colares died at the age of 29 on Monday (May 1) after he was reportedly hit by a bus while returning from a morning training session in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, his coach, Rodrigo Babi, told the Brazilian MMA website Combate, according to ESPN.
Babi said Colares was alive when rescued by the local fire department, but succumbed to injuries while being transported to the hospital. The Brazilian had a 11-4-0 career MMA record, which included two wins in six career UFC fights from 2019 to 2022, as well as a submission victory over Alioune Nahaye at ARES FC 12 in February.
"The ARES family sends its most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Felipe Colares," the MMA promotion wrote in a tribute post shared on its Instagram account Monday.
Colares recently made headlines for stopping an alleged attempted robbery by using Brazilian jiu-jitsu to neutralize the suspect.
The 29-year-old also worked as a coordinator for Empoderadas, a government program in Brazil that aims to raise awareness of violence against women and teach self-defense.
"Felipe made a tremendous contribution with his experience as a multi-champion athlete helping us develop techniques to prevent and cope with violence against women," Empoderadas wrote in a post shared on its Instagram account via ESPN.