Jará (far right) at Jungle Fight. Photo: Carlos Ozório

Joe Moreira Jiu-Jitsu black belt Marcos Adriano Albuquerque, better known as Marco Jara, is yet another victim of violence in Brazil, which even on Christmas Eve spares no one. The coach was murdered this Thursday, while Jará’s friend, American Brent Garret, was shot in the stomach and is in stable condition.

The coach and the American recently arrived in Brazil from the United States. Both went on to a party in the Southern Rio de Janeiro town of Paraty, where they would have celebrated Christmas, when they stopped in Santa Cruz to ask directions. At that moment, they were approached by two armed men. According to the police, Garret was shot when he tried to react, and thrown from the car, while the suspects fled in Jará’s Land Rover.

The coach was found hours later, dead, in the car, at the entrance to Sapo Favela, in the Senador Camará area of Western Rio.

Recently, Jará accompanied Brett Cooper, who defeated Brazil’s Sergio Moraes, at Jungle Fight.