On Saturday, Wanderlei Silva was knocked out cold during a post-fight brawl.
After being disqualified for repeatedly head-butting his opponent, a massive brawl broke out that resulted in the UFC and Pride FC legend being knocked out by his opponent, Acelino Freitas’ son, Rafael.
On Sunday, Wanderlei shared an update with fans, sporting a significant amount of swelling in a video posted on social media.
While Silva said he’s doing well, he admitted to having a lingering headache. Additionally, he indicated that he’s unable to open his eye:
“Look how my eye [is]. I am very well accompanied with my doctor [my wife]. Honestly, I was well taken care of by the event. They took me to the hospital yesterday, and I had some tests done. But since I have a really bad headache, I will do more tests here in Curitiba to be able to figure out what happened to me and if I had any more serious head injuries.
“I will also see an ophthalmologist because I am not able to open my eye and this was the damage caused yesterday. This week I will do the exams and bring more news. Thank you for rooting for me and for all of the messages.”
Fabricio Werdum Reacts to Post-Fight Brawl
The brawl also notably saw former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum jump into the ring with Silva’s son.
In video replays, Werdum can be seen firing off a series of punches.
On Sunday, Werdum shared his side of the story in a Portuguese-speaking video on Instagram,
MMAFighting was kind enough to translate:
“The images don’t lie. Everybody saw what happened. We were in there, [coach Andre] Dida, [Silva’s son] Thor and I, and we entered the ring when it was all over and Wanderlei was disqualified, and a lot of people entered from ‘Popo’ side. I think it was 20 of them, and only me, Wanderlei, Thor and Dida. and we were reacting to their attacks, you know? They started screaming and coming at us, and we were in four.
“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. Wanderlei is here in the hospital now, getting stitched up; it broke Wanderlei’s nose because he was very mean. Wanderlei had his gloves on, tired from the fight.”
Acelino Freitas Reacts to Wanderlei Silva Post-Fight Brawl
In a video shared on Instagram, Freitas shared his side of the story, indicating that after Wanderlei Silva was DQ’d for repeatedly head-butting him, the MMA legend’s coach punched him, starting the whole thing.
MMAFighting once again provided a translation:
“His coach went after me and punched me, he really hurt me. Wanderlei, the fight was between you and me and had nothing to do with the team. If you head butted me, cool, I don’t care. But, unfortunately, Werdum cowardly entered the ring with your son [Thor Silva] and went all over everybody. And I saw that someone also punched you.”
“We tried delivering you a perfect [show] and I end up beat by his coach out of nowhere, man,” he continued. “Another guy tried to rear-naked choke me, almost chokes me out. … I’d like to apologize to Ambev and Spaten. But I’m telling you, we had no fault. Cowardly, it was his team. And I don’t know why they put Werdum in this event. This guy only does shit in other people’s events. Werdum, be ashamed. If I were you, I’d be ashamed. There’s video of you all over me, trying to hit me.”
Stay tuned for updates as they become available.