Former UFC competitor Ericka Almeida has levied some serious assault and abuse allegations at her former coach.
Almeida is a former Jungle Fight champion who fought for the UFC twice in 2015. According to a report from Brazilian site Fantastico (via MMA Fighting), Almeida has accused ex-coach Herman Gutierrez of assault. Her sister, Ellen Almeida, is pressing charges on the coach as well.
The story went that Ericka Almeida began a relationship with Gutierrez when she began working as a receptionist at his gym way back in 2007. She was 17 years old. Although Gutierrez was 38 years old and married, the two began a romantic relationship. That’s when the violence began, she claims. He got aggressive and began pushing, kicking, and elbowing her for odd reasons.
The Plot Thickens
But it gets a lot worse.
Ellen Almeida didn’t know her sister was having a relationship with the coach. She began her own fling with him after starting to train at his gym. He allegedly began assaulting her as well. She wrote in her journal, “every single month one of us gets beat up. Almost every single day he threatens us.”
Fantastico aired a 2017 phone call between Ericka and Gutierrez where he called her a “b****.” He allegedly assaulted her later that year after she was texting friends on a group chat. She recorded a video containing harrowing footage of her having a bloodied face. In it, she blamed Gutierrez for the assault:
“Nobody deserves this, nobody. I never thought this would happen to me. But if something happens, it was Herman who came to my home to do this.”
Here is a photo of Almeida from the recording:
Fear Of Gutierrez
Fantastico later showed Gutierrez that video, and he predictably denied Almeida’s accusations. He questioned why she never pressed charges until now. She claimed she feared he would enact retributions on her family.
Ericka told her parents about the saddening situation after a friend persuaded her to. She called off the relationship with Gutierrez and then moved to another city. She is now engaged to another man but is still pressing charges. Almeida’s lawyer wants Gutierrez to face attempted murder charges.
Gutierrez denied the assaults but confirmed he had a relationship with Almeida to police. He denied the relationship to Fantastico, showing holes in his story. After hearing the phone call audio from which the above photo came, he promptly ended the interview.
Almeida fought twice for the UFC in 2015, losing both to Juliana Lima and Aisling Daly. She has not fought since 2017.
