The news of his father’s passing was posted to the UFC bantamweight’s Instagram page on January 9th.
The year couldn’t have gotten off to a much worse start for UFC bantamweight Raulian Paiva.
After being hospitalized since December 20, Paiva’s father – Jose Moyses Frazao – has reportedly passed away due to COVID-19 complications. Moyses was 71-years-old. A message to fans and supporters of Paiva was left on the fighter’s official Instagram account, to pay tribute to his memory.
“It is with a heavy heart that I come here to inform that Raulian Paiva’s father has passed away on the night of January 9, 2022. Mr. Moyses was a great warrior and he will always make us proud. My condolences to the family.”
According to a conversation between Paiva and Brazilian news outlet Globo Esporte AP, Moyses’ condition was aggravated due to a bacterial infection in his blood, which ultimately led to his death.
This isn’t the first time Paiva has faced tragedy in his life. Shortly after the current Team Alpha Male talent was signed by the UFC, his 25-year-old girlfriend was killed after being a drunk driver intentionally struck the couple while they were riding on a motorcycle.
After a rough start to his UFC career, Paiva (21-4) is now 3-3 with the promotion, having picked up victories over Mark de La Rosa, Zhalgas Zhumagulov, and Kyler Phillips. Most recently he faced off against bantamweight top prospect Sean O’Malley, losing that bout via 1st round stoppage. In a recent post to his Instagram account Paiva hoped that he could get a booking for the UFC’s upcoming return to Brazil for a PPV event on May 7th.