Thiago Silva? Thiago Silva.
Silva, the former UFC light heavyweight contender who has recently faced domestic assault charges and other serious controversies outside of the cage, has signed with the World Series of Fighting promotion and will participate in a four-man tournament to determine the first WSOF light heavyweight champion.
The news was first reported Wednesday evening by Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting:
Thiago Silva signs with WSOF, enters four-man tournament for light heavyweight title w/ other familiar names – http://t.co/3JTZFFkqq2
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 15, 2015
During his days in the Octagon, Silva (16-3-2) was known for an aggressive striking style, which earned him memorable knockout wins over fighters like Keith Jardine, Rafael Cavalcante and Houston Alexander.
But major trouble appeared last February, when Silva allegedly threatened to kill his estranged wife and barricaded himself in his South Florida home. Silva was eventually arrested, but only after an armed standoff with a SWAT team.
He was briefly charged with attempted murder, though the charge was later downgraded to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, along with other related charges.
The UFC released Silva shortly after news of the incident surfaced.
However, in September, the UFC reinstated Silva after a judge dropped all charges against him when Silva’s ex-wife, Thaysa Kamiji, declined to cooperate with the investigation and departed the United States for Brazil.
But there was another turn of events.
Shortly after that reinstatement, Kamiji posted two videos to YouTube that respectively appeared to depict Silva carrying a gun and allegedly high on cocaine. The UFC again released Silva.
Fast-forward about three months, and Silva has now signed with WSOF. WSOF President Ray Sefo told Helwani that he believed Silva deserved another chance in professional MMA.
“We researched his situation, and the charges were dropped,” Sefo told Helwani in Wednesday’s report. “[Silva] wasn’t convicted. In my opinion, you’re innocent until proven guilty. The guy is a great fighter so we want to give him an opportunity.”
The WSOF light heavyweight tournament will reportedly pit Silva against another UFC vet and current WSOF 205-pounder Ronny Markes. Matt Hamill, famous for achieving a lengthy UFC career despite a hearing impairment, is also in the tournament.
The fourth competitor has not yet been announced.
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