Maiquel Falcao and Marcelo Brigadeiro at Bellator 66, April 20,
2012 (Dave Mandel/Sherdog)
In the wake of the death by stabbing of
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran and
former Bellator MMA title challenger Maiquel
Falcao on Sunday, Sherdog reached out to Falcao’s friend and
former coach, Marcelo Brigadeiro. The Astra Fight Team head man
gave a frank and harrowing account of his troubled friend and the
longstanding issues outside of the cage that hampered his
professional as well as personal lives.
Sherdog: Can you talk about the recent report about Maiquel
Falcao’s violent stabbing death in Brazil? You worked with him
for many years, including his UFC and Bellator stints. He was a
controversial person, from his single UFC bout, a win against
Gerald
Harris, to a gas station fight that resulted in
severe brain injuries to his training partner Kaue Mena. At
some point he was considered for a UFC return but an old battery charge kept that
from happening. He was also a father. What can you say about your
former team member?
Brigadeiro: “Falcao was very complex – hard to
understand. On one hand, he had a wonderful heart. He was extremely
generous and would give whatever he had to help others. I witnessed
this on many occasions. He was always concerned with making
everyone around him happy and comfortable. When he came to Astra Fight Team, he brought
along other fighters from the state of Rio Grande do Sul – guys
like Jonas
Boeno do Rosario, Cleiton
Duarte, and Kaue Mena. He fed them and allowed them to stay at
his home until they got on their feet.
“At the same time, he had an aggressive side. This was especially
bad when he was under the influence of alcohol. That is how some of
these street fights occurred, such as the aforementioned gas station brawl. We had just
won the Bellator Season 6 middleweight tournament, and he had just
faced [then champion] Alexander
Shlemenko. It’s a sad situation. I had to let him go from my
team. I had warned him before. World champion or not, I made it
clear that this type of behavior wouldn’t be allowed on my
team.
“After he no longer trained with us, I continued helping him book
fights, to help him financially. I’m the godfather to one of his
sons. I didn’t want him to be destitute. I was witness to his
downfall to alcohol addiction. It was also obvious by his
deteriorating physical shape, as time went by. I suggested that he
should stop fighting. He was so talented and tough, but he
shouldn’t have been reduced to a mere stepping stone for other
fighters. He decided to work with a different manager and was
booked on a long streak of losses [mostly by KO] at the end of his
career. In a way, I felt that’s how his life was going to end. He
would send random messages very late at night, while heavily
intoxicated. I don’t know if he was on something else. His words
were slurred. He was completely inebriated. People closer to him
felt he was lost in life.
“Unfortunately, we know how things are likely to end up when you’re
on that path. It’s very sad. I was sad to learn about his death,
even though I can’t say I was surprised. I know that he had a good
essence. We lived great moments together. I had a lot of affection
for him, despite of what happened. I made the business decision to
cut him off to safeguard the good name of our team. Astra has
graduated many young fighters so we couldn’t have that type of
example among us. In the end, I feel Maiquel knew how much I cared
for him.”