Former Team Nogueira employees Richardson Moreira, Erivan Conceicao under investigation for rape

Boxing coach Erivan Conceicao has trained a long list of popular MMA fighters in Brazil. | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Former UFC fighter Richardson Moreira and boxing coach Erivan Conceicao are under investigation after being accused of rape in separate incidents while working for MMA gym Team Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro, MMAFighting has confirmed.

Globo broke the news of the Conceicao case, while Ag. Fight first reported the news about Moreira.

Camila Borges Araujo and a second woman, who chose not to disclose her name to Globo, filed separate police reports against the MMA industry vets in February 2019. Borges Araujo claimed she was assaulted by Conceicao, while the woman named Moreira as her assailant.

No arrests have been made in the cases, and Moreira denied the allegations when contacted by MMA Fighting; Conceicao was not immediately reachable for comment. Moreira and Conceicao face eight to 15 years in prison if convicted of rape.

Borges Araujo and the second woman were 13 and 14 when they joined the institute. They allege the assaults began a few years later after they were selected for the professional team.

Borges Araujo alleges Conceicao sexually assaulted her on several occasions over a one-year period when they were working together at the Nogueira brothers institute — a project that teaches martial arts to kids.

Conceicao has coached a long list of MMA fighters over the past few years in Rio de Janeiro, including former UFC champions Anderson Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Junior dos Santos. Moreira was a competitor on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil and fought twice in the UFC.

Team Nogueira released a statement to MMA Fighting saying that both Conceicao and Moreira were fired from the gym’s coaching staff and the institute as soon as they were informed of the investigation on March 21, 2019.

According to police reports obtained by MMA Fighting, the allegations stem from separate incidents in which Conceicao and Moreira allegedly coerced the women into having unwanted sex.

The young woman, whose name is being withheld, told the police she went to a Carnival party in February 2016 at the building where Moreira lives. She claims the fighter forced her to drink beer, and Moreira allegedly invited her to go to his apartment, where they had sex.

The woman told the police she didn’t want to have sex with Moreira, but “had no way to react” since he was bigger and stronger. In her statement, she claimed Moreira gave her beer “to make things easier.”

When contacted by police, Moreira claimed he was not a director of the Nogueira brothers’ institute, but a full-time fighter at the time of the alleged incident. He denied giving her alcohol, but confirmed having sex with her that day – which he claims was consensual – and on three other occasions. A friend of Moreira, who was at the apartment on the day of the alleged incident, told police Moreira spent 20 minutes with the young woman in the bedroom.

Borges Araujo’s allegations revolve around her professional relationship with Conceicao. She detailed to police three alleged incidents that took place between 2016 and 2017.

Borges Araujo told police she was 16 when the boxing coach first made unwanted advances after requesting a meeting via text to discuss her career. She claims Conceicao picked her up at home and drove to a distant area in Rio de Janeiro, where they talked for some time. The coach then put his hand on her leg, and when she asked him to stop, he grabbed her by the neck and forcibly kissed her, she told police. When she said “no” again, Conceicao drove her back home.

Conceicao’s advances increased over time, Araujo told police. She said she felt like she was under psychological pressure to accept them, and that Conceicao made her believe she would have to do everything he told to her to to grow in the sport.

Araujo told police Conceicao later requested another meeting. He drove her to the Recreio beach in Rio de Janeiro, where he sexually assaulted her in the car. She told police the assault became a regular occurrence every Saturday after training, and she felt like a “hostage.”

The assaults also involved other people, she told police. She said on one occasion, Conceicao told her to go to his apartment. When she arrived, she felt safe because his wife was there. But then Conceicao forced her to have sex with him and his wife, Loren Santos de Santana. Both Conceicao and Santana denied the accusations in their statements to police.