UFC Fighter Thiago Silva Arrested After Standoff at Florida Home
UFC light heavyweight Thiago Silva was arrested late Thursday night after a standoff with local sheriffs at his Oakland Park home in Florida.
Various local news outlets in Florida reported that an armed man entered the Pablo Popovitch Mixed Martial Arts Academy at about 7:45 p.m. ET making unspecified threats and then left. MMAWeekly.com sources speaking on the condition of anonymity confirmed that the armed man was Silva.
There were no injuries reported stemming from the incident at the academy.
After leaving the academy, the suspect then barricaded himself in his home, which CBS Miami identified as Silva’s residence.
A SWAT team was called to the scene and the suspect was taken into custody at approximately 11:15 p.m. ET, according to NBC 6 South Florida.
UFC officials verified to MMAWeekly.com that they were aware of a situation involving Silva and released the following statement:
“This evening, we were made aware of a situation involving Thiago Silva. We are in the process of gathering the facts and have no further comment at this time.”
Multiple sources told MMAWeekly.com that the incident stems from an earlier domestic dispute between Silva and his wife, although Broward Sheriff’s Office officials had yet to verify Silva’s arrest or any details pertaining to it.
Thiago Silva has a fight booked against Ovince St. Preux for UFC 171, which is scheduled for March 15 in Dallas.
(Erik Fontanez and Jeff Cain contributed to this report.)
