MMA veteran Geronimo dos Santos drowned in the Brazilian Amazon at the age of 45. Dos Santos disappeared while swimming in the Rio Negro, one of the world’s largest rivers, according to local reports. Amazon Fire Department divers discovered the heavyweight’s body on Monday morning, finding him trapped beneath rocks on the river bottom.
Dos Santos last fought in April, scoring a brutal first-round knockout of former UFC heavyweight Aleksei Oleinik in a bout at BKFC. The victory marked a late-career highlight for the striking specialist. Dos Santos then had a BKFC fight with Andrei Arlovski in June, but eventually withdrew from the fight.
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In 2006, Dos Santos made his MMA debut in his native Brazil, starting his 72-fight MMA career (record 45-26-1). While dos Santos never competed in the UFC, he did sign with the promotion in 2012. He was scheduled to compete in a heavyweight bout against Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro, but was removed from the card after testing positive for hepatitis B. He later withdrew from the promotion in 2014 due to being unable to obtain medical clearance from the North American Athletic Commission.
Throughout his career, Dos Santos has faced several notable heavyweight legends and names, including Junior Dos Santos, Josh Barnett, Sergey Kalitonov, Vitaliy Minakov and Alexander Emelianenko. From 2011 to 2014, Dos Santos won 13 consecutive MMA fights, the best result of his career.
His death marked a tragic end to a life and career that spanned decades across multiple combat sports disciplines.
