Wanderlei Silva, one of the most popular figures of early mixed martial arts, received treatment at a hospital Saturday after he was knocked out in the aftermath of an exhibition boxing match in Sao Paulo.
Silva, 49, was disqualified in the fourth round for throwing illegal headbutts against 50-year-old Acelino Freitas. Immediately after the bout, members of both fighters’ camps entered the ring and started an ugly postfight brawl. During the scuffle, Silva got hit with a right hand and crumpled violently to the floor. Brazilian media identified Silva’s attacker as Freitas’ son, Rafael.
Silva’s cornerman and former UFC champion Fabricio Werdum later posted on social media that Silva suffered a fractured nose from the punch and received facial stitches. He was released following treatment.
“The images don’t lie,” Werdum said in Portuguese on social media. “It was so evil for that guy to punch Wanderlei. He punched the back of the head of Wanderlei. I don’t know if it landed clean, but it could have been something very serious.”
Acelino Freitas, a former boxing champion, blamed Silva’s corner for the brawl — namely Werdum, who threw a series of punches at Freitas and other members of his team before Silva got knocked out.
“When the fight ended, the referee disqualified Wanderlei for the three headbutts, his coach went after me and punched me,” Freitas said on social media. “Wanderlei, the fight was between you and me and had nothing to do with the team. If you headbutted me, cool, I don’t care. But unfortunately, Werdum cowardly entered the ring with your son and went all over everybody. And I saw that someone also punched you.”
Neither the Brazilian National Boxing Council nor the promotion, Spaten Fight Night, announced any immediate discipline. In a statement, Spaten Fight Night said the events did not represent its values of “sportsmanship and respect to the rules.”
The boxing match was Silva’s first since he retired from MMA in 2018. He was supposed to face fellow Brazilian MMA legend Vitor Belfort, but Belfort withdrew and was replaced by Freitas on less than one month’s notice. The bout was scheduled for eight rounds. Silva weighed in 44 pounds heavier than Freitas for the exhibition.
