New Victims Come Forward with Sexual Assault Allegations Against Fight Sports

Last week, allegations were brought to light regarding former Fight Sports black Marcel Goncalves, his pending sexual assault case, and the handling of Goncalves by Fight Sports leadership, specifically Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu. Details of those allegations can be read here. Since then, additional allegations of sexual assault by Fight Sports-associated men, and the handling of these allegations by Abreu, have been made.

ADCC head organizer Mo Jassim — who has since started publishing statements and news regarding this situation on the Instagram account @motar2k — shared additional allegations of sexual assault involving Fight Sports athletes.

First, teenage Fight Sports competitor Mandy Schneider alleges that former Fight Sports instructor Rodrigo Da Costa Oliveira gave Schneider alcohol and sexually abused her while the pair were away for a competition.

According to Schneider, Oliveira abused Schneider the evening before Submission Hunter 60, an event that took place in October 2020. Schneider says that she reported the abuse to individuals at Fight Sports, but nothing was done for two weeks as Oliveira continued to teach and be at the gym, around Schneider. Schneider also says that Abreu “did take away” Oliveira’s visa, which presumably permitted him to work and stay in the United States.

Additionally, Jassim shared an allegation from an anonymous woman stating that a Fight Sports blue belt attempted to rape her at a jiu-jitsu camp in Bonito, Brazil in 2016. According to the allegation, Abreu learned of the incident and pressured the woman into withdrawing her complaint.

These allegations have not been independently verified by Grappling Insider.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and holds the rank of black belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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