Video footage has now emerged of now-former UFC light heavyweight Thiago Silva being taken into custody in Broward County, Fla., after getting arrested on a slew of violent criminal charges.
Various media outlets, including Linda Trischitta and Erika P…
Video footage has now emerged of now-former UFC light heavyweight Thiago Silva being taken into custody in Broward County, Fla., after getting arrested on a slew of violent criminal charges.
Various media outlets, including Linda Trischitta and Erika Pesantes of the Sun-Sentinel, reported that on Thursday evening, Silva traveled to the Pablo Popovitch Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and threatened to shoot up the school if Popovitch didn’t come outside.
Popovitch is allegedly dating Silva’s estranged wife, Thaysa, who is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the world-renowned grappler.
A news report from (local Florida news station) Channel 7’s “Today in Florida” program shows Silva being taken into police custody at the Broward County Jail after a long standoff with a local S.W.A.T. team at his home.
Reporter Sheldon Fox notes that Silva was given a brief medical examination before having his tattoos inspected and being processed at the station.
In wake of the charges, which are two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count of resisting an officer without violence, the UFC cut Silva almost immediately.
TMZ was the first media outlet to break that aspect of this ongoing story, with UFC President Dana White telling them: “This guy will never fight in the UFC again.”
Silva boasts a 16-3(2) record overall and was entering his UFC 171 matchup against Ovince St. Preux riding a two-fight win streak over the likes of Rafael Cavalcante and Matt Hamill.
Needless to say, OSP needed a new opponent in light of Silva’s legal issues and the UFC was able to quickly find a game replacement in Nikita Krylov for the March 15 event, per Tristen Critchfield of Sherdog.
The bout marks Krylov’s debut as a light heavyweight.
-After appearing before a judge this morning, Silva was officially charged with two counts of aggravated assault, one count of resisting an officer without violence, and one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon stemming from a prior incident.
-The aforementioned prior incident took place on January 30th, 2014 between Silva and his ex-wife, Thaysa (the couple filed for divorce in December 2012 after 13 years of marriage but continued to live together), wherein Silva allegedly “picked up a revolver, pushed her onto the sofa, placed a revolver inside her mouth and threatened to kill her.”
-Two days ago, police were again called to the Silva residence by Thaysa when she arrived home to find her ex-husband inside, which violated the terms of the temporary injunction for protection she had filed against Silva. Thiago eventually left without incident (after initially refusing), but later texted Thaysa that he was “gonna f–k you up and you are going to die. I am going to hire someone to kill you and I am gonna move my girlfriend in.”
(Courtroom feed of Silva’s bond hearing via sunsentinel.)
-After appearing before a judge this morning, Silva was officially charged with two counts of aggravated assault, one count of resisting an officer without violence, and one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon stemming from a prior incident.
-The aforementioned prior incident took place on January 30th, 2014 between Silva and his ex-wife, Thaysa (the couple filed for divorce in December 2012 after 13 years of marriage but continued to live together), wherein Silva allegedly “picked up a revolver, pushed her onto the sofa, placed a revolver inside her mouth and threatened to kill her.”
-Two days ago, police were again called to the Silva residence by Thaysa when she arrived home to find her ex-husband inside, which violated the terms of the temporary injunction for protection she had filed against Silva. Thiago eventually left without incident (after initially refusing), but later texted Thaysa that he was “gonna f–k you up and you are going to die. I am going to hire someone to kill you and I am gonna move my girlfriend in.”
-Yesterday evening, Silva arrived at the Pablo Popovitch Mixed Martial Arts Academy, visibly intoxicated. Popovitch has been involved in a romantic relationship with Thaysa that is partially responsible for setting Silva off in the first place. After honking the horn until Thaysa exited the gym, Silva pointed a glock at his ex-wife’s face and stated, “You have ten seconds to bring Pablo outside and if he does not come out, I will go in the gym and start shooting everyone.”
Once Popovitch exited the gym, Silva continued to make death threats with the gun pointed at Thaysa, prompting Popovitch to call the police.
-Police officers arrived at Silva’s house shortly thereafter. In turn, Silva “faced the deputies and gave them the middle finger then proceeded inside his residence.” A SWAT team was subsequently sent in and managed to subdue Silva with a taser before taking him into custody.
-The state was pursuing an attempted murder charge for the January 30th incident, but Silva’s previously clean record, in addition the lien currently being placed on him by the IRS for unpaid taxes, led Judge John Hurley to throw out the charge. However, Hurley did recognize that Silva was a potential flight risk and threat to the community, and forced him to surrender his passport before withholding his bond.
Oh yeah, and Dana White told TMZ and Yahoo Sports that Silva “will never fight in the UFC again.” Glad we could get that out of the way.
If only this was the most insane thing that will happen in Florida today. We will keep you updated on Silva’s case as information is made available.
The UFC terminated Thiago Silva’s contract Friday after the light heavyweight was arrested following an armed standoff with police in Florida.
“This guy will never fight in the UFC again,” UFC president Dana White told TMZ, per Ariel Helwani of MMA Fig…
The UFC terminated Thiago Silva’s contract Friday after the light heavyweight was arrested following an armed standoff with police in Florida.
Late Thursday night, MMA Junkie reported that Silva had been arrested and taken into custody after an armed standoff between him and police at his Fort Lauderdale, Fla. home. The scene apparently shifted to Silva’s home following an altercation at Pablo Popovitch Mixed Martial Arts Academy, according to a report from the TV affiliate Local 10.
The Local 10 report stated that Silva barricaded himself inside his home, and that before going to the Popovitch academy, he pulled a gun on his wife, Thaysa. He allegedly told a Local 10 reporter, “She wanted my house. She wants my money.”
No one was hurt in the incident.
Silva was booked into the Broward County Jail on four felony counts, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was denied bond. An update from TMZ Sports claims Silva will not be charged with attempted murder.
According to the TMZ report, the entire incident began because Silva suspected his wife of having an affair with Popovitch.
The 31-year-old Silva is 16-3 (2) in his pro MMA career. In 2011 and again in 2012, he failed drug tests and was suspended. He fought most recently on Oct. 9, when he defeated Matt Hamill by decision. Silva, however, failed to make weight for the bout, which was ultimately contested at a catchweight of 208 pounds.
(Thiago Silva mugshot via SunSentinel. Props to CP reader ‘Toto Africa’ for the tip.)
UFC light-heavyweight veteran Thiago Silva was arrested last night at his home in Oakland Park, Florida, after an armed standoff with police. The incident began around 7:45 p.m. ET, when Silva allegedly stormed into the Pablo Popovitch Mixed Martial Arts Academy while carrying a gun, made “unspecified threats,” then left and barricaded himself inside his home. Broward County police — including a SWAT team — surrounded his residence, and Silva eventually surrendered at about 11:15 p.m.
Early this morning, Silva was booked into Broward County’s maximum-security Main Jail facility on four charges, including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest/obstruction. That’s pretty much all we know right now. Though there were a lot of reports flying around twitter last night regarding Silva’s motives and the weapon he was carrying, none of those details have been officially confirmed as of yet.
Currently riding a two-fight win streak, Silva was scheduled to fight Ovince St. Preux at UFC 171 (March 15th, Dallas). It’s unclear if that fight will still take place. The UFC released the following brief, non-committal statement last night:
This evening, we were made aware of a situation involving Thiago Silva. We are in the process of gathering the facts and have no further comment at this time.
We’ll update you when we know more.
UPDATE #1: After the jump, a video of Silva being taken into custody, flipping off cameras, and telling cops that his wife wanted his money.
(Thiago Silva mugshot via SunSentinel. Props to CP reader ‘Toto Africa’ for the tip.)
UFC light-heavyweight veteran Thiago Silva was arrested last night at his home in Oakland Park, Florida, after an armed standoff with police. The incident began around 7:45 p.m. ET, when Silva allegedly stormed into the Pablo Popovitch Mixed Martial Arts Academy while carrying a gun, made “unspecified threats,” then left and barricaded himself inside his home. Broward County police — including a SWAT team — surrounded his residence, and Silva eventually surrendered at about 11:15 p.m.
Early this morning, Silva was booked into Broward County’s maximum-security Main Jail facility on four charges, including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest/obstruction. That’s pretty much all we know right now. Though there were a lot of reports flying around twitter last night regarding Silva’s motives and the weapon he was carrying, none of those details have been officially confirmed as of yet.
Currently riding a two-fight win streak, Silva was scheduled to fight Ovince St. Preux at UFC 171 (March 15th, Dallas). It’s unclear if that fight will still take place. The UFC released the following brief, non-committal statement last night:
This evening, we were made aware of a situation involving Thiago Silva. We are in the process of gathering the facts and have no further comment at this time.
We’ll update you when we know more.
UPDATE #1: After the jump, a video of Silva being taken into custody, flipping off cameras, and telling cops that his wife wanted his money.
UPDATE #2: A pro-fighter and Popovitch black belt named James Brasco has made a post on the UG explaining the domestic situation that might have led to Silva’s armed freak-out.
UFC fighter Thiago Silva has been known for his savage-like brutality in the cage and roadblocks outside of the cage that have stymied momentum in his fight career. Another one of those roadblocks has come up.
On Thursday evening, Silva was arrested i…
UFC fighter Thiago Silva has been known for his savage-like brutality in the cage and roadblocks outside of the cage that have stymied momentum in his fight career. Another one of those roadblocks has come up.
On Thursday evening, Silva was arrested in Florida on multiple charges for threatening people at a jiu-jitsu gym and then participating in a standoff with police at his home.
This is just the latest trouble for the UFC veteran, whose outside life keeps interfering with his in-cage career that should be so much more than it is. Had it not been for multiple self-inflicted damage, he could easily be a top star in the UFC light heavyweight division.
His history of out-of-the-cage problems has held him back from being not only a top-10 fighter, but even a top-five fighter in the UFC light heavyweight division. Not only that, but the UFC has continually given the troubled Brazilian all the chances in the world to clean up his act.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at the peaks and valleys of Silva’s roller-coaster career.
Silva entered the UFC as a highly-touted 9-0 prospect with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, powerful striking and a reputation as one of the scariest men in MMA.
His early UFC career shadowed his pre-UFC career. He went 4-0 to start his UFC tenure, finishing all four men in devastating fashion. Those four fights came before a loss to Lyoto Machida, where he was finished with just one second left in the first round.
It was a respectable loss though. Machida was on his way to a title shot and Silva just got caught.
He came back to destroy Keith Jardine, before taking a headlining spot on a pay-per-view opposite Rashad Evans. He lost, but it was a good outing nonetheless.
Then, the craziness came.
After spending an extended amount of time off due to injury, Silva came back to take on Brandon Vera. He utterly decimated Vera, looking incredibly intimidating in the process. However, he submitted a false urine sample in a mandated drug test and was suspended for one whole year.
He would come back and take a short-notice replacement bout in the headlining card in Sweden against Alexander Gustafsson. Despite losing, the UFC gave him another chance knowing his potential could be the ultimate payoff.
He would run into trouble again. Competing in the first-ever China card, Silva would submit Stanislav Nedkov, earning himself a Submission of the Night bonus in the process. That win would be overturned yet again and his bonus stripped, as he failed another drug test for marijuana.
Again, he would be suspended, this time for just six months. But, these suspensions and layoffs due to injury were taking away precious time in a promising career.
He finds himself on a current two-fight win streak over Rafael Cavalcante and Matt Hamill. The win over Cavalcante got him back in a positive light, as the fight earned him Fight and Knockout of the Night honors. It was truly a throwback performance to a time when we didn’t know the frustratingly difficult situations he would later put us through.
He then came in out of shape and overweight against Hamill, but still outclassed the former UFC contender. We were willing to forgive Silva, mostly because he still won the fight as a pudgy, overweight light heavyweight.
Now, we must deal with the fallout of his current problem. He is scheduled to fight Ovince St. Preux next month at UFC 171, but that now lays in jeopardy. Even if the fight goes on, one has to think a loss would mean a cut of ties with the UFC, who must be growing weary of the constant issues of this fighter.
So, his only losses come to former champions Machida, Evans and top contender Gustafsson. And despite the interruptions for injury, coming in out of shape and the failed drug tests, Silva is still in the top-15 in the UFC 205-pound class.
He could easily be top 10, but he is getting in his own way. If he was truly disciplined, he could make a run at the title in a division dying for contenders.
Instead, he can’t keep his head on straight and continues to fight in the middle of the card when he could be making a run at co-main and main events of important cards.
It’s just a shame that his talent, raw power and toughness get overshadowed by a history of questionable behavior and decisions.
UFC fighter Thiago Silva has been arrested after he threatened his estranged wife and her lover with a gun and then had an armed standoff with police officers at his home, according to a story NBC 6 South Florida broke late Thursday night:&n…
UFC fighter Thiago Silva has been arrested after he threatened his estranged wife and her lover with a gun and then had an armed standoff with police officers at his home, according to a story NBC 6 South Florida broke late Thursday night:
According to the Sun Sentinel, Silva has been jailed on several charges:
A Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest report released Friday outlines the allegations that put Silva, 31, in jail on two counts of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and obstruction without violence.
However, during a first-appearance court hearing, Silva’s attorney, Scott Saul, was able to have the attempted murder charges downgraded to aggravated assault with a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after laying out his arguments to Broward Judge John “Jay” Hurley.
Silva will be held without bond, according to USA Today:
Bleacher Report reached out to the UFC on Thursday night, and the promotion responded with the following: “This evening, we were made aware of a situation involving Thiago Silva. We are in the process of gathering the facts and have no further comment at this time.”
On Friday morning, the UFC officially terminated Silva’s contract, via Damon Martin of Fox Sports:
Silva, 31, was involved in an altercation with his estranged wife of 13 years, Thaysa. They were separated in 2012, and Thaysa has since admitted to an ongoing extramarital affair with Pablo Popovitch, founder of the Team Popovitch Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
According to the police report, cops were first called to the Silva residence in Oakland Park, a city near Fort Lauderdale, on Jan. 30 when Thiago confronted Thaysa over the extramarital affair. Thiago allegedly pointed a silver revolver at Thaysa and put the gun in her mouth, prompting her to obtain a temporary restraining order against her husband.
The report also states that Thiago violated his restraining order by showing up at the couple’s home on Wednesday, Feb. 5, before sending a disturbing text message threatening to kill Thaysa.
The next night, according to the report, Thaysa was at Popovitch’s training center when Thiago drove up and blared his horn continuously until Thaysa came out. When she got close to the vehicle, a visibly intoxicated Thiago pointed a glock firearm at her and allegedly said, “You have 10 seconds to bring Pablo outside and if he does not come out, I will go in the gym and start shooting everyone.”
There were reportedly 25 students inside the center at the time of the threat. Popovitch is said to have come out and approached the car when Thiago again threatened to kill both Popovitch and Thaysa before driving away. Popovitch then ran back inside, locked the door and called 911.
Police responded to the incident and tracked the fighter back to his home, where Thiago barricaded himself inside and an armed standoff took place, according to NBC 6 South Florida. After police surrounded the home, Silva eventually came out and was subdued by stun gun.
MMA blogger ZombieProphet passes along Silva’s mugshot:
Silva, ranked 12th in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, was slated to fight Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 171 in March. He currently trains at the Jaco Hybrid Training Center (better known as the Blackzilians) based out of Boca Raton, Fla.
The Brazilian fighter has been largely successful in MMA, posting a 16-3 professional record (with two no contests), but has had numerous incidents throughout his time with the UFC. In 2011, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended him for a year for submitting a synthetic urine sample. He was again suspended in 2012 for failing a drug test due to marijuana metabolites.
Most recently, Silva missed weight for his fight with fellow veteran light heavyweight Matt Hamill. He won the bout by decision, but appeared to be out of shape and was underwhelming in victory. It’s reasonable to assume his personal issues, which have now been made public, contributed to his subpar performance in the cage.
The UFC terminated 
