Matt Brown’s former BJJ coach Rodrigo Botti was nabbed after allegedly assaulting the fighter outside the UFC veteran’s hotel on Sunday morning.
The rift between UFC welterweight Matt Brown and his former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach Rodrigo Botti has been a heated one since early 2015.
Botti, who trained Brown at the Ohio Combat Club, first accused Brown of assault and tried to press charges. City prosecutors, however, deemed the evidence of assault that was presented were insufficient, subsequently hindering the filed case from moving any further.
On Saturday, after Brown’s third round submission loss to Demian Maia at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brown and Botti crossed paths once again, but this time, in a more violent manner. Botti allegedly attacked his former student outside the latter’s hotel lobby on Sunday morning.
The incident was confirmed by Brown’s wife Colleen, and analyst and former fighter Brian Stann.
Not a random fan who attacked Matt. It was Rodrigo Botti who is an absolute psycho.
— Colleen Brown (@Mrs_Immortal) May 15, 2016
In Feb 2015 Matt wore wrestling shoes on mats and Botti got pissed..shoved Matt so Matt fought back. Botti called cops like a wimp.
— Colleen Brown (@Mrs_Immortal) May 15, 2016
Random fan runs into hotel, hits Matt Brown, and runs. Matt’s friend catches him. Wow
— Brian Stann (@BrianStann) May 15, 2016
Not a random fan. Guess it is a guy who has had a long time grudge w/ Matt, old coach or something, odd. Security has him now
— Brian Stann (@BrianStann) May 15, 2016
A friend of Brown’s then ran after Botti outside the hotel, and a physical altercation between the two men soon ensued. After being on the receiving end of punches, Botti ended up being restrained as Brown’s companions called the police. Video of the incident can be seen at the top of the page, courtesy of Zombie Prophet.
In a statement released by UFC officials to MMAjunkie, Brown was unharmed in the incident.
“UFC is aware that welterweight contender Matt Brown was allegedly attacked today by a former acquaintance at the UFC 198 host hotel in Curitiba, Brazil. UFC has been in communication with local authorities to gather more information relative to the alleged attack, and is reviewing security measures at the hotel.
“Fortunately, Brown was uninjured in the situation and will return home to the United States later today as planned.”
A spokesman for the Curitiba Police Department told MMA Fighting that Botti would now be pressing assault charges against Brown’s friend, identified as Vinicus “Pequeno” Lemos.
This completes a crazy weekend filled with tension and confrontation for Brown, who was attacked by fans during his walkout at UFC 198 on Saturday night, leading to him punching one of them before he got to the cage. At the weigh-ins on Friday, he flipped off fans with both hands at the weigh-ins.