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Brazilian MMA Veteran Geronimo ‘Mondragon’ dos Santos, 45, Drowns in Rio Negro

Officials say divers found his body beneath rocks near São Gabriel da Cachoeira, prompting municipal mourning.

Overview

  • The heavyweight disappeared over the weekend after entering the river near a freshwater beach, with a family account saying he dove into a deep section and did not know how to swim.
  • Divers from the Amazonas Fire Department recovered his body Monday morning a few kilometers from the spot where he vanished, with reports noting strong currents and submerged rocks.
  • The municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira confirmed his death and issued public condolences following the recovery.
  • Dos Santos compiled more than 70 professional MMA bouts with 45 wins and shared the cage with Junior dos Santos, Josh Barnett, Sergei Kharitonov and Vitaly Minakov.
  • He stayed active in 2025, scoring a first-round BKFC knockout of Aleksei Oleinik in April and later withdrawing from a scheduled bout with Andrei Arlovski, and his planned 2012 UFC debut was canceled after a positive hepatitis B test.