MMA fighter Godofredo Castro de Oliveira, known as Godofredo Pepeypassed away this Sunday (9) in Florida, United States, inside the prison where he was being held. With this, Sporting News shows who the fighter is and why he was in prison.
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Who is Godofredo Pepey?
Born in Fortaleza (EC)Pepey had 38 years and had been in prison since June 30, 2025after attacking his wife, Samara Melloin the city of Deerfield Beach. US authorities have not yet released the circumstances of the death.
Pepey became famous for participating in the first edition of the reality show “The Ultimate Fighter Brasil”in 2012, shown on TV Globo. On that occasion, he was runner-up in the featherweight tournament, which boosted his international career. During his career in UFCadded 11 fightscom five wins and six losses.
After leaving the organization in 2018, the fighter competed in three more fights, the last one in 2022. In total, his professional record records 14 wins, seven losses and one fight without result. Outside the octagon, Pepey also tried to enter politics, running for Fortaleza councilor in 2024but was not elected.
Why was Pepey arrested?
In June this year, the athlete was arrested for domestic violence against Samara Mello. According to investigations, he had physically attacked his wife, causing injuries to her face and body, in addition to damaging part of the couple’s residence. The police were called by neighbors, who heard the commotion, and arrested Pepey the next day.
The fighter was facing several charges in the Florida courts, such as kidnapping with bodily injury, assault by strangulation, intimidation of a victim and obstruction of communication with the police.
The lawyer from Samara, Gaudenio Santiagoin contact with “GE”, confirmed that the death was communicated to the family by the American authorities. He highlighted that cases of death in custody require rigorous investigations and asked for respect for the fighter’s family and wife.
According to the lawyer, Samara is emotionally shaken and taking care of the legal procedures for the body release.
