UFC fighter Thiago Silva was arrested on Thursday night after he allegedly went ballistic and accused his wife of having an affair. The light heavyweight reportedly drove to a jiu-jitsu school and threatened people before barricading himself in his home, where the SWAT team was called upon to get him to surrender.
According to a police report obtained by TMZ, Silva drove to a martial arts school owned by well-known instructor Pablo Popovitch in Broward County, Fla. He allegedly suspected his wife was having an affair with Popovitch, so he drove her to the training center and demanded that she bring Popovitch outside.
Silva allegedly pulled a gun on his wife and pointed it at her, telling her, “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.”Popovitch reportedly came running out of his gym to protect Silva’s wife, at which point Silva is said to have threatened both his wife and Popovitch.
Pablo then ran inside to call 911, which is when Silva retreated to his home. The incident began at around 8 p.m., and Silva finally surrendered to SWAT team members at around 11:15 p.m. TMZ attained a video of Silva in the back of a police car briefly speaking to a reporter.
“She wants my house, she wants my money.” he said. “Just don’t report this. Can you do that for me?”
When he arrived at the police station, Silva flipped reporters off as officers were booking him.
Silva was arrested on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and resisting arrest. A judge later threw out the attempted murder charge since Silva did not fire the weapon. The judge said there was probable cause for aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest without violence. He is being held without bond.
The arrest was the latest in what has allegedly been a pattern of domestic violence from Silva against his wife. Police say he accused his wife of cheating on him last month and she claimed he pulled out a revolver and shoved it in her mouth. She later obtained a restraining order against him.
Shortly after the story surfaced, Dana White told TMZ that Silva will “never fight in the UFC again.” He has been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs in the past. White has obviously had enough, whether Silva is found guilty of the charges or not.
