Edouardo Larenas can finally breathe easier. An ordeal that began four years ago appears to have reached its conclusion. A month ago, reports confirmed that the jury trial for former UFC fighter Edouardo ‘Icho’ Larenas had commenced. He was being tried on one count of second-degree murder. Argentine-born Larenas, who fought for the promotion two decades ago, was accused of killing a 17-year-old. The case drew significant attention as Larenas contested it on the grounds of self-defense, claiming the incident occurred during a home invasion attempt by the deceased.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“It is a trial I will never forget,” the presiding judge, Steve Baribeau, a former prosecutor himself, stated after the jury confirmed its final verdict on Edouardo Larenas—”Not guilty.”
The incident dates back to May 2022. Larenas and his wife were the targets of two home invasion attempts within a matter of hours. He believes the robbers were looking for “an inheritance” they assumed Larenas had received because of his mother’s death about two weeks ago. The fatal confrontation that took the life of a person took place in the early morning hours of May 23.
According to his testimony, the 17-year-old had a knife. A prolonged struggle to disarm the knife-wielding teen ended when they both fell to the floor, resulting in the fatal stab wound. Larenas claimed he does not remember stabbing the teen. He believes the injury happened accidentally during the fall. The ex-UFC fighter pushed the teen away after the fight, but only learned the boy had died while in police custody.
“That was the first time I had control of the knife,” Larenas said. “I didn’t see any blood (on the victim). I had the knife. He didn’t move after that. I wanted him to keep a distance. That was the goal. I wanted to defend myself, my wife.”
Larenas and his wife left their home after the incident and were arrested hours later at another residence. As the legal case expanded, it also drew attention to those closest to him. Outlets such as the Montreal Gazette reported that prosecutors had also charged Larenas’ wife, Gladys Rosana Lopez. She faced accusations of being an accomplice. Justice Baribeau acquitted Lopez of being an accomplice after the fact due to a lack of evidence.
Larenas’s legal battle stands in stark contrast to his past as a professional fighter for the UFC.
Edouardo Larenas: From the Octagon to a high-stakes courtroom battle
Nicknamed “El Dogo,” Edouardo ‘Icho’ Larenas began his professional career in 2004 under the TKO Major League MMA franchise. On March 4, 2006, he made his UFC debut against Tom Murphy. Fighting on the UFC 58 card, billed as “USA vs. Canada,” the Buenos Aires-born fighter, who later relocated to Canada, suffered a third-round TKO loss.
BJ Penn’s portal reports that Larenas left the UFC after the Murphy loss. He later fought two other UFC veterans, including Krzysztof Soszynski and Steve Bosse. The results were mixed; he lost to Soszynski but defeated Bosse. Overall, his MMA record stands at six wins and six losses.
He has not stepped back into the cage since the May 2018 first-round knockout loss to Adam Dyczka.
Yet his fighting career now sits in the shadow of the legal battle that followed. After a courtroom episode in which five jurors reportedly complained about a sixth juror they believed was not taking the case seriously, prompting the presiding judge to remind them of their duties, Larenas can now view the verdict as a defining personal victory.