Mateus Nicolaou, along with other members of the MMA community, mourns the loss of UFC and Bellator MMA veteran Guilherme Vasconcelos.
Nicolau, who was born and raised in the same city of Belo Horizonte as Vasconcelos, was deeply shocked by Bomba’s death.
Nikolaou will face upcoming flyweight contender As Almabaev on Saturday at UFC Vegas 99 at the Apex in Las Vegas. The Brazilian will raise his hand and dedicate the victory to Vasconcelos.
“He wasn’t someone I talked to regularly on a daily or weekly basis, but I really liked him,” Nicolaou told MMAFighting.com. “He’s a little older than me, [jiu-jitsu] He got his black belt before I got his black belt, but at the same time we were both on the MMA path. He was always very kind to me. We have many friends in common. Everyone in the Belo Horizonte Jiu-Jitsu community knows each other and I met him at World Masters a month ago.
“I was devastated when I heard the news, dude. I loved him so much, you know? He just fought and was who he was, even if it wasn’t intentional. He was an amazing person who helped many people in Belo Horizonte. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. He will be greatly missed. It was shocking.”
Vasconcelos was still competing in grappling when he died at age 38. Although his family has not yet released further details about his death, Nicolaou feels it is important to raise more awareness about men’s mental health.
“This is a warning about how important mental health is,” Nicolaou said. “We have to open up to our friends. I once texted a friend and said, “Life is crazy and I don’t get to talk as much as I want, but I’m always here. I love you.” there is. Like him, it’s important to say that to those we care about. If you had a chance to go back and talk to him, you would, right?
“We can’t ignore that, because we all have people who really love us, we all have people we can stand by and trust, people we can turn to for help. Men don’t often do that. Sometimes it’s hard to open up and ask for help and show your vulnerability. You’re only strong when you can be vulnerable. The news is devastating. This is a warning to all of us. May he rest in peace.”
