Longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) veteran Geronimo dos Santos has died at the age of 45 following a drowning incident in Brazil.
Brazilian outlet Globo reports that dos Santos went swimming Saturday morning in the Negro River near Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira in the Amazonas region while visiting the area with his girlfriend. He went missing shortly afterward. Rescue crews recovered his body on Monday, reportedly finding him trapped beneath rocks at the bottom of the river.
“Mondragon” compiled a lengthy and globe-spanning combat sports career, logging more than 70 professional MMA bouts and earning 45 victories across multiple promotions. A Heavyweight known for aggression and knockout power competed extensively on the regional circuit and shared the cage with several notable names like Junior dos Santos, Josh Barnett, and Aleksander Emelianenko over the years.
In 2012, dos Santos was signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after putting together an 11-fight win streak and was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro. However, the bout was scrapped after dos Santos was forced to withdraw, and he was ultimately released without competing inside the Octagon.
After closing out his MMA run, dos Santos transitioned to bare-knuckle boxing, signing with BKFC earlier this year. He made an immediate impact in his debut, scoring a brutal first-round knockout over former UFC heavyweight Aleksei Oleinik (watch highlights). A follow-up bout against Andrei Arlovski was later scheduled for June, though dos Santos withdrew prior to the event.
