Ralph Gracie’s student Lincoln Jeferson Pereira arrested for assault of Flavio Almeida

Police have arrested one of the men charged earlier this year for assaulting Flavio Almeida during a jiu-jitsu tournament in California in Dec. 2018, MMA Fighting has confirmed following a report by O Globo.

A warrant was issued for the arrests of Lincoln Jeferson Pereira and his jiu-jitsu coach Ralph Gracie in April for felony assault with intent to produce great bodily injury, with a suggested $50,000 bail for each. Sgt. Daron Wyatt of the Anaheim PD told MMA Fighting that Pereira turned himself in. He's currently in custody and is expected to appear in an Orange County court on June 28.

There has been an enhancement added for the alleged inflicting of great bodily injury, which, in case of a conviction in California, could mean three additional and consecutive years in state prison after the original sentence.

Gracie was caught on tape landing an elbow to Almeida’s face next to the mats during the World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship in Anaheim.

After the incident in December, Almeida’s team Gracie Barra released a statement stating that Ralph Gracie “meant to hurt Flavio personally, and also to intimidate Gracie Barra.”

Shortly after the incident, the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) announced that “the alleged perpetrators have been immediately and indefinitely suspended from any and all IBJJF sanctioned events,” prohibiting them from “attending, competing, coaching or in any way participating in IBJJF events.”