OREANDA-NEWS Former UFC fighter and Bellator tournament winner Maiquel Falcao was killed in his hometown of Pelotas (Brazil). It happened on Sunday, January 23, MMAFighting reports. It is noted that Falcao was taken to the hospital about 3 a.m. from the bar with several stab wounds in the stomach. He died from this injuries, the police are investigating the case.

Falcao made his debut in the professional ring in 2004, fought mainly in Brazil, and most of the fights ended prematurely with knockouts. He suffered his first career defeat in 2007, when he met with an experienced compatriot Fabio Maldonado and lost to him by technical knockout in the third round. In 2008, a rematch with Maldonado took place, but he again prevailed, winning by technical knockout in the second round. Falcon suffered the third defeat in his career from a little-known fighter Daniel Boat. Thus, by the summer of 2010, he had a rather impressive track record of 25 wins and 3 losses, thanks to which he attracted the attention of the promoters of the world's largest fighting organization Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Falcao had one fight in the UFC — in 2010 he defeated Gerald Harris by unanimous decision. After that, he signed a contract with Bellator, where he won the Middleweight Grand Prix, and lost the fight for the championship title to Alexander Shlemenko.

Falcao is also the only fighter who defeated Russian Vladimir Mineev at the EFN Fight Nights Global 5 tournament in 2016.