UFC flyweight Jafel Filho and his family are safe after a scary incident Wednesday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to the MMA fighter, he was driving back from home the church when a car cut him off and three armed men jumped out and started running at their direction.
“Brother, it was a huge scare,” Filho told MMA Fighting on Thursday. “My wife’s desperation and my son screaming inside the car, we didn’t know whether they were trying to take the car or kidnap us. But Jesus protected us. I
managed to stay calm and get away from the area.”
Filho detailed the incident on an Instagram post, revealing that he and his wife, Alline Costa, were in separate cars and ended up crashing into each other while attempting to escape. Costa and their son Isaac escaped without injuries.
Yesterday, around 11 p.m., Jesus protected us from the hands of evil. We were coming back from a session at a church in Santa Cruz and were driving along Avenida Brasil when I noticed a car speeding up and following us. At first, I thought it was just someone wanting to pass, so I stayed calm and kept going.
When we reached the downhill section of a bridge I gave way, but the car cut in front of us and blocked us, and three criminals got out wearing hoods and carrying guns, running toward us. I managed to stop at a good distance on the slope. At that moment, the danger became clear. My only thought was to protect Isaac and Alline. I shouted for them to duck down in the car while I tried to get us out of there.
I reversed and managed to accelerate and escape. My wife’s car was right behind us, with a friend who was with us, and in the middle of the escape we crashed into each other, but God helped us and we managed to get away, even driving on wrong way in traffic, and escape.
Jesus frustrated the enemy’s plans against our lives. We are alive because He protected us.
Filho holds a MMA record of 17-4 after winning three of five under the UFC banner, tapping out Clayton Carpenter with a kimura in his most recent appearance at UFC Rio in October 2025. The UFC has yet to announce his next assignment.
