UFC fighter Thiago Silva appeared in front of a judge in Florida this morning after being arrested last night on charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and resisting arrest without violence.
According to the police report, Silva arrived at the Pablo Popovitch Jiu-Jitsu Center in Florida where his wife, Thaysa Silva trains, at approximately 7.45pm last night and began honking his horn, demanding that she come out.
His wife, who he separated from in 2012, came out and was confronted by the allegedly intoxicated Silva pointing a gun at her while still seated in the car. He then also demanded that the owner of the gym, Popovitch, who is believed to now be her boyfriend, also come out.
After complying he too was threatened with the gun by Silva before Popovitch retreated back into the gym, locked the door and called the police. Silva then left the scene and returned to his home where he was involved in a stand-of with a police SWAT team before eventually giving himself several hours later.
It’s believed that Silva was tasered at the scene for the officers own safety before being handcuffed and taken to jail.
The judge also heard that Silva and his wife had also been involved in a separate incident on January 30th in which the MMA star was alleged to have held her down and put a revolver in her mouth while threatening to kill her.
Thaysa Silva reported the domestic incident at the time and managed to gain a temporary injunction against her husband. That didn’t appear to have calmed the situation however, as she then contacted the police again on Wednesday after receiving threatening texts from Silva in which he threatened to have someone kill her so that he could move his girlfriend into their house.
The state argued that the fact that Silva had pointed a gun at his estranged wife and Popovitch last night, in addition to his prior incidents of domestic violence, lead to the attempted murder charges being filed, but after reviewing the evidence and hearing from Silva’s attorney before taking a brief recess, Judge John Hurley ruled that, while there was a thin line, that the incident did not amount to attempted murder, but rather was a case of aggravated battery with a firearm.
Judge Hurley then moved on to the issue of bail, and after again taking time to carefully deliberate over the facts, he decided that Silva would not be allowed to post bail.
That decision effectively ruled Silva out of his forthcoming fight with Ovince St.Preux at UFC 171 next month, but as it turns out it would not have mattered anyway as the UFC have opted to part ways with the troubled fighter.
“The Ultimate Fighting Championship has terminated the contract of Thiago Silva, effective immediately,” a statement from the UFC released earlier today reads.
UFC president Dana White also clarified to TMZ that, “This guy will never fight in the UFC again.”
