Brazil News
RIO DE JANEIRO – MMA’s Valter Luis da Silva, light heavyweight champion of Brazil, died Tuesday morning in an automobile accident in Sao Paulo. Valter Luis, age unknown, current holder of the light heavyweight belt from the BRFC (Brazilian Fighting Championship) died instantly in a head-on collision with a truck on the Brigadeiro Faria Lima highway, in the Barretos region of Sao Paulo reported online media Tuesday.
Jose Luis Manteli, 40, a passenger in the vehicle driven by Valter Luis also died in the crash. According to G1, the two were returning from the funeral of five friends who had died the day before in an automobile crash on the same stretch of highway.
Valter Luis da Silva loved practicing MMA. He fought three matches at BRFC and won three. The director of the Brazilian league praised the determination and eagerness of the fighter while mourning the death of a great athlete.
“Talented, warrior, determined, family. That was Valter. We lost a great champion. The BRFC and the sport’s entire family are in mourning. May God comfort the family in this time of grief. Sorry,” lamented Jose Carlos Sica Calixto, who was also a friend of the fighter.
The accident which killed Valter Luis da Silva
According to the Highway Patrol, Valter collided with a pickup truck driven by a 31-year-old man who was passing another vehicle in the opposite direction. The two vehicles stuck head-on, killing the fighter and his passenger instantly. The impact totally destroyed the fighter’s automobile.
Rescuers took the occupants of the pickup truck to hospital with minor injuries. There is no word on whether drugs or alcohol was involved in the fatal collision.
