Wanderlei Silva’s attacker in Saturday’s Spaten Fight Night 2 post-fight brawl in Brazil has been identified.
Silva lost via disqualification in his exhibition boxing match against Acelino “Popo” Freitas after a series of illegal head-butt strikes in Round 4, however the bigger controversy came in the immediate aftermath. A massive brawl between both fighters’ camps broke out in the ring, which resulted in the 49-year-old MMA legend sustaining a nasty knockout punch from Freitas’ son, Rafael. Silva’s cornerman, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, confirmed in a social media post that it was Freitas’ son who struck the MMA legend. Silva was hospitalized after the chaotic scene and suffered a fracture in his nose.
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Silva has since been released from the hospital after four hours of physical exams, according to Globo.
Werdum said on social media (translation via MMA Fighting):
“The images don’t lie. Everybody saw what happened. We were in there, [coach Andre] Dida, [Silva’s son] Thor and I, and we entered the ring when it was all over and Wanderlei was disqualified, and a lot of people entered from ‘Popo’ side. I think it was 20 of them, and only me, Wanderlei, Thor and Dida. and we were reacting to their attacks, you know? They started screaming and coming at us, and we were in four.
“It was so evil for that guy to punch Wanderlei. He punched the back of the head of Wanderlei. I don’t know if it landed clean, but it could have been something very serious. Wanderlei is here in the hospital now, getting stitched up; it broke Wanderlei’s nose because he was very mean. Wanderlei had his gloves on, tired from the fight.”
“Popo” Freitas, a former WBA and WBO champion, also reacted to the incident. The veteran boxer was largely critical of Silva’s crew as the ones to blame for the post-match kerfuffle.
“When the fight ended, the referee disqualified Wanderlei for the three head-butts he hit me, and his coach went after me and punched me; he really hurt me. Wanderlei, the fight was between you and me and had nothing to do with the team. If you head-butted me, cool, I don’t care. But, unfortunately, Werdum cowardly entered the ring with your son and went all over everybody. And I saw that someone also punched you.
“We tried delivering you a perfect [show] and I end up beat by his coach out of nowhere, man. … Another guy tried to rear-naked choke me, almost chokes me out. … I’d like to apologize to Ambev and Spaten. But I’m telling you, we had no fault. Cowardly, it was his team. And I don’t know why they put Werdum in this event. This guy only does s*** in other people’s events. Werdum, be ashamed. If I were you, I’d be ashamed. There’s video of you all over me, trying to hit me.”
Silva, 49, stated in a Sunday update that he isn’t feeling well and has experienced “a lot of dizziness and a headache that just won’t go away” since Saturday’s incident. With his right eye swollen shut and badly bruised, Silva said he plans to undergo “more detailed exams” this coming week to determine whether he has more serious head trauma.
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Silva had been inactive from any combat sports competition since 2018. Last year, he revealed in a letter supporting the UFC antitrust settlement that his fight career led to severe health issues:
“I fear that during my career I have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) and am noticing symptoms common with TBI and CTE including depression, mood swings, and irritability.
“I suffer from sleep apnea and have difficulty sleeping and breathing. That I can recall, I have had four surgeries on my nose, one on my face, two on my left knee, one on my right knee and one on my elbow.”
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Despite Silva’s self-professed health issues in recent years, Spaten Fight Night not only hosted the match but also placed a $94,000 knockout bonus on the exhibition if either Silva or Freitas had won by that method.
Spaten Fight Night released the following statement on its social media page regarding the incident:
“We believe that sportsmanship and respect to the rules must always prevail. We reprove the events that happened after the end of the last match, it doesn’t represent these principles. We will continue to work to support and elevate the values of the sport and martial arts.”
