Nogueria's Trainer and Good Luck Charm Dies

The man who Fighters.com fourth-ranked heavyweight “Minotauro”Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1) called his lucky charm, Luiz Alves, passed away Friday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Luiz was 53 and cause of death was a stroke. He suffered a stroke on January 26 and due to pressure on his brain the doctors were forced to induce a coma. Sadly, this Friday he suffered a hemorrhage due to increased pressure on his brain which ended up leading to his death.

Luiz is considered one of the most important representatives of muay thai in Brazil. His loss is a huge blow to the Brazilian MMA community as he was the founder of Boxe Thai Academy and the Brazilian Confederation of Muay Thai.

Nogueira has always considered Alves to be his good luck charm. He attended every fight he has been in since 2001 except for his loss against third-ranked Frank Mir (13-4) and his other loss via stoppage to Cain Velasquez (8-0). The Cain fight he had already suffered his stroke and during the Mir fight his daughter was getting married.

This will be a difficult thing for Nogueira to overcome since he held him in such high regard.

His funeral will be Sunday in Nova Russas, Brazil and friends and family will have a private ceremony at Memorial do Carmo in Rio de Janeiro.

MMA Gospel and Fighters.com offer our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.