Wanderlei Silva Suffers Broken Nose in Post-Fight Brawl

Wanderlei Silva Hospitalized After Boxing Exhibition in Sao Paulo

The legendary mixed martial arts fighter, Wanderlei Silva, was hospitalized on Saturday after being knocked out following a boxing exhibition fight in Sao Paulo. Silva, one of the most popular figures from the early days of MMA, was disqualified in the fourth round for delivering illegal headbutts against Acelino Freitas, 50 years old. After the fight, a brawl broke out between the teams of both fighters. During the altercation, Silva received a punch that knocked him down. According to Brazilian media, Silva’s attacker was Rafael, son of Freitas. Fabricio Werdum, former UFC champion and part of Silva’s team, reported on social media that Silva suffered a broken nose and needed stitches on his face. Subsequently, he was discharged.

Images don’t lie. It was very malicious that that guy hit Wanderlei. He punched him in the back of the head. I don’t know if it was a clean hit, but it could have been something very serious.

Fabricio Werdum

Acelino Freitas, former boxing champion, blamed Silva’s team for the fight, especially Werdum, who threw several punches at Freitas and other members of his team before Silva was knocked out.

When the fight ended, the referee disqualified Wanderlei for the three headbutts, his coach went after me and hit me. Wanderlei, the fight was between you and me and had nothing to do with the team. If you headbutted me, great, I don’t care. But, unfortunately, Werdum cowardly entered the ring with your son and went against everyone. And I saw that someone also hit you.

Acelino Freitas

Neither the Brazilian National Boxing Council nor the promoter, Spaten Fight Night, announced immediate disciplinary measures. In a statement, Spaten Fight Night declared that the events did not represent their values of “sportsmanship and respect for the rules”.

This boxing match was Silva’s first since retiring from MMA in 2018. He was scheduled to face Vitor Belfort, but Belfort withdrew and was replaced by Freitas with less than a month’s notice. The fight was scheduled for eight rounds. Silva weighed 44 pounds more than Freitas for the exhibition.