3 days ago
Ex-UFC\u00a0fighter Godofredo Pepey arrested for kidnapping, domestic violence; wife speaks out
Pepey's wife, his alleged victim, says combat sports world rife with domestic abuse: 'Stop treating this as a secret'
Ex-UFC fighter Godofredo Pepey arrested, held for kidnapping, domestic violence; wife speaks out
Former UFC fighter Godofredo Pepey was arrested earlier this week and is being held in Florida for charges including domestic violence.
Brazilian news outlet Combate was first to report the news of Pepey's arrest in Deerfield Beach in South Florida. Court documents show Pepey, who turned 38 Wednesday, charged with kidnapping and inflicting bodily harm or terrorizing the victim; domestic battery by strangulation; witness tampering; and domestic violence.
The combined bail was set for the Brazilian at $120,000. But a fifth charge is an immigration hold on Pepey. In essence, that means if he makes bail, it would only be so he could be taken into custody by immigration officials for possible deportation.
In the aftermath of Pepey's arrest, his wife, Samara Mello, posted on Instagram, in coordination with Rose Gracie of the non-profit Fighting Foundation, a charity supporting fighters – or in this case, the wife of one. The photo included showed a battered, bloodied and bruised portion of her face.
The post, written in Portuguese, said she is a survivor of domestic violence and that it is prevalent enough in the combat sports world that it needs to be addressed more than it has been.
"We need to stop treating this as a secret. Violence grows in silence," Mello posted, via translation. "I hope the authorities in Brazil and the world understand that the blood on my face and my body flows through the hands of those who still see femicide as a statistic and they don't do enough to change it."
Mello's most recent social media post on the Instagram platform that included Pepey was less than a month ago and included a slide show of many photos of the couple together. But her Thursday post painted a very different story.
Pepey (14-7), from Fortaleza, was on Season 1 of "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" in 2012. He lost the featherweight final to Rony Jason, then went on to 10 more fights in the UFC with a mixed bag that left him 5-6 overall in the promotion.
But a stretch in 2014-2014 on the heels of back-to-back losses saw him go on a yearlong surge of three straight first-round finishes – and three straight post-fight performance bonuses, including one for a triangle choke finish of Andre Fili in the most standout moment of his career.
Pepey was cut loose from the UFC after three losses in four fights, though, in 2018. Since then, he has fought just three more times, most recently a first-round loss to Abdoul Abdouraguimov in the Ares FC 3 main event in Paris in early 2022.
