UFC legend Wanderlei Silva’s boxing debut ended in chaos as a post-fight brawl erupted at the event.
Silva faced off against former two-weight boxing champion Acelino Freitas in an exhibition bout in Brazil on Saturday night.
However, the 49-year-old was disqualified in the fourth round of the fight after committing multiple infringements, which included an intentional headbutt.
Up until Silva’s disqualification, Freitas had been dominating the fight and was expected to go on to win the bout, this despite outweighing his opponents by 44lbs.
Silva's boxing debut result in an all-out brawl
The fight descended into chaos once the referee waved off the fight as members of both teams rushed the ring to brawl, with two people from Silva’s camp attempting to haul the former UFC star back towards the corner.
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In the midst of the chaos, Silva was caught by a man in a tuxedo, who was believed to be a member of Freitas’ team.
And the former UFC star was left motionless on the floor after he was knocked out as the havoc continued around him.
Fortunately, despite having been on the deck for a substantial period of time, Silva only went to hospital as a precaution following his knockout after his team were able to walk him out of the ring and to a stretcher where he was taken to São Luiz Hospital in São Paulo.
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Reporter Wesley Felix, meanwhile, reported that tensions didn’t ease after the incident and that arguments continued backstage.
Freitas had Silva on his heels in the first and second rounds, but the latter started using his dark arts to work his way back into the fight.
Silva landed a number of blows after the bell signalled the end of the round, and in round four the pair had to be separated multiple for punching each other after the break.
Silva was then deducted a point for a headbutt in the fourth round, and was disqualified following a further two sanctions.
Saturday's fight was Silva's first in combat sports in 2018
Saturday’s fight marked the first time Silva has fought since 2018, where he was knocked out by Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson at Bellator 206.
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Silva did enjoy an astonishing six-year spell as PRIDE Middleweight champion and has previously defeated MMA icons Michael Bisping, Dan Henderson and Jackson and during his career, the Hall of Famer managed 27 wins from knockout/TKO.
Similarly, the boxing match in Brazil was Freitas’ first since 2017 and was previously considered to be one of his country’s greatest ever boxers as he won multiple world titles at super featherweight and lightweight.
Ben McAleer