Introducer of muay thai in Brazil, Nelio Naja dies at age 65

The grand master lived in the last years of his life in a humble way after being disappointed with the lack of appreciation for his work

Franciele Marques

13/07/2018 | 14:23

N. Naja introduced Muay Thai in Brazil and had already left the sport a few years ago. Photo: Reproduction/Jonathan Campos/Gazeta do Povo

Nelio Borges de Souza, known as Nelio Naja, was found dead, on Thursday (12), in Curitiba. According to information from the Military Police, the death was due to natural causes. At 65 years old, Nelio Naja introduced muay thai to Brazil.

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Born in Rio de Janeiro, Nelio arrived in Curitiba in 1976. It was in the capital of Paraná that he introduced muay thai to Brazil. Two of Naja's main disciples are: Rudimar Fedrigo, who has already revealed great MMA talents, such as Wanderlei Silva, Mauritius Shogun e Chris Cyborg, and Fábio Noguchi, first coach of Anderson Silva.

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In the last years of his life, Nélio Naja isolated himself due to disappointments and lack of appreciation for his work. Currently, he lived in a boarding house in the municipality of Paraná and had a simple life.