UFC Terminates Thiago Silva’s Contract, Charges Reduced Despite Him Being Held Without Bond
A bizarre story unfolded when former UFC light heavyweight Thiago Silva was jailed after a standoff with a Miami S.W.A.T. team following an incident where he allegedly threatened his estranged wife Thaysa at her Brazilian jiu-jitsu school, Pablo Popovitch Mixed Martial Arts Academy.
Silva also allegedly began threatening Popovitch, who came out of the academy briefly before returning inside to call the police. Several officers went to Silva’s house to detain him, but were unable to until he surrendered without resistance after a four-hour standoff.
According to MMA Junkie, Silva was booked into Broward County, Florida, court where his initial charge of felony attempted murder was reduced to aggravated assault with a firearm. His initial combined bond for all his charges was set at a lofty $2,500,100, but presiding Judge John Hurley ultimately decided to hold Silva without bond, citing “legitimate concern” based on what “looks like ongoing domestic violence in the relationship.”
Judge Hurley also put it bluntly by saying:
“Court has no doubt you can kill any or all of these people without even using a gun.”
Silva and his wife Thaysa reportedly separated in 2012, but the court cited a recent incident on January 30th of this year where Thaysa Silva called police after Thiago allegedly held her down and put a gun in her mouth, threatening to kill her. She obtained a restraining order against the embattled fighter at that time.
Amidst the whirlwind of reports, news has come from the UFC regarding the situation. The promotion has released an official statement that simply reads:
“The Ultimate Fighting Championship has terminated the contract of Thiago Silva, effective immediately.”
Apparently, he won’t be back, either, as UFC president Dana White told TMZ:
“This guy will never fight in the UFC again.”
Not surprisingly, his days in the UFC are over. Silva was never the most rule abiding of all fighters after having a UFC 125 win over Brandon Vera overturned after it was found that Silva used a urine adulterant to mask the results of his post-fight drug test. He also had his UFC on Fuel TV 6 win over Stanislav Nedkov changed to a No Contest after failing the drug screen for marijuana.
But this incident takes the cake.
Silva will await his future in court, but his tenure with the world’s biggest mixed martial arts promotion is over. The violent and polarizing fighter had several chances to make a solid career in the UFC, but it appears he chose to go a different route.
More on the unfortunate situation as it unfolds.
