Jacare promised his Submission Combat competition will be a real spectacle on the mat. Thus far the eyebrows have been permanently raised by his choice of competitors.

Among the fighters, notably a certain Hermes Franca. If the name rings a bell it’s possibly because Franca was a part of the UFC for a time and even more so because he was arrested around May 2011 with multiple sexual battery charges. His stint in the UFC consists of 11 fights including title fight against Sean Sherk. In addition to this he has notably defeated Nate Diaz.

Franca was sentenced to more than 3 years in prison for sexually abusing a student in his martial arts school. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful penetration and one count of the first degree sexual abuse. According to Fox 12 Oregon, the alleged victim is under the age of 14 and the pair of “unlawful penetration” charges indicate that Franca used an object (or numerous objects) on her.

He was initially charged with seven counts of sex abuse in the first degree as well as two counts of unlawful sexual penetration int he second degree. He was in jail for over two years and was then released to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be deported back to Brazil. Had he not been deported he would’ve had to be supervised for at least 4 years following his release in addition to registering as a sex offender.

He is currently teaching at Samurai Martial Arts in Fortaleza, Brazil.

The event is set to take place in Manaus, Brazil on August 6th. The card was composed of 13 fights:

Ronys Torres (AM) x Netto BJJ (GO) – 77 kg

Jorge Patino Macaco (USA) x Hermes Franca (EC) – 77kg

Erberth Santos (SP) x Maike Matos (AM) – 92 Kg

Dileno Lopes x Adversary define

Cristiano Catala (SP) x Adversary to define – 95 Kg

Mark Marajó (AM) x Francinaldo Neguinho (AM) – 70 Kg

Alcenor Alves (AM) x Marcio Pontes (AM) – 65 Kg

Fabio Trindade (AM) x Carlos Rubber (BA) – 77 kg

Andre July (AM) x Deive Fonseca (AM) – 85kg

Rubens Macula (SP) x Adriano Balby (AM) – 95 kg

Diego Davella (AM) x João Ferreira (AM) – 70 kg

Maysa Ladislau (AM) x Franciele Nascimento (AM) – 65 kg

Robert Pato (AM) x Willian Preguição (AM) – 88 kg

Do you think someone with this type of criminal history should be allowed to participate in a high profile event? Should he be allowed to teach? Sound off in the comments.