UFC veteran Raulian Paiva is facing serious charges in his home country of Brazil.
Former UFC bantamweight Raulian Paiva is once again involved in a violent story with the law, but this time he’s the one facing charges.
Back in 2018, the Brazilian was garnered some attention for the story of the tragic death of his girlfriend at the time, who was riding the back Paiva’s motorcycle when the couple was hit by a drunk driver. This time around, though, Raulian is the one being accused of assaulting his wife.
Per Globo Esporte’s report, Paiva was arrested last Monday in his hometown of Santana, in the state of Amapa, under charges of domestic violence due to accusations of physical and psychological abuse made by his own wife.
According to the police, the fighter’s partner was to leave their house because Paiva had allegedly threatened her. Per the police chief in charge of the case, the woman claimed Raulian said he would kill her and throw her things out on the street.
She also claimed that Raulian ran towards her car when she parked in their garage and only stopped when he noticed that his wife had a friend in the vehicle. Furthermore, she claims Raulian had physically and psychologically assaulter her three days prior to this incident, making a police report at the Crimes Against Women Station. A witness also confirmed the woman’s accusations to the police.
The fighter has since paid the two thousand reais bail (roughly 400 dollars). Paiva then went on his Instagram account to tell his followers that the accusations were not true.
“Hey guys, good evening. I’m recording this video because of some news that came out and people are mentioning me and asking me about it. So to answer everyone’s questions regarding the news about a UFC fighter who hit his wife, that fighter was not me, all right? Thank god, everything’s all right here. I’m home with my family and everything’s OK.”
Despite Raulian’s statement, Globo Esporte reports that Raulian told the police his 2-year relationship had always been troubled and had evidence of verbal abuse. However, Paiva still denied the physical violence and death threats.
When approached by Globo Esporte for a statement, Paiva said his wife’s accusations were lies. Raulian admitted the couple had an argument, but claims they resolved it on the same day.
“The threats and assault (accusations) are lies. We had an argument and in a moment of fury, my wife went to the police station in the heat of the moment and filed a report. We sorted it out and are all right now.”
Paiva (21-5) was released from the UFC on a two-fight losing skid, with losses to Sergey Morozon and Sean O’Malley. The 27-year-old’s stint lasted for seven fights, out of which he won three and lost four. The Brazilian’s most recent victory dates back to July 2021, when he defeated Kyler Phillips by majority decision.