UFC light heavyweight fighter Thiago Silva, scheduled to step into the Octagon at UFC 171 in March may have to alter his plans following his arrest in Florida.
According to reports, Silva was involved in a confrontation at his jiu-jistu gym in Fort Lauderdale. Details of the altercation are sketchy at the moment, but a reportedly armed Silva is believed to have been inside the gym threatening people at around 7:45 p.m. yesterday before heading to his home and barricading himself inside.
Police arrived at his home, including a S.W.A.T. team, and Silva eventually surrendered to them without incident at around 11:00 p.m. At the moment it is unclear what sparked Silva's rage, but reports indicate there were no injuries either at the gym or Silva's house.
The UFC has issued a statement regarding the reports of Silva's behavior. "This evening, we were made aware of a situation involving Thiago Silva," the statement read. "We are in the process of gathering the facts and have no further comment at this time."
This arrest comes at a very bad time for the 31-year-old Brazilian, whose career in the UFC was looking up. He'd won his last two fights and had a 16-3-0 record with two no contests. Two of his losses have been against stars Lyoto Machida and Alexander Gustafsson, the latter of whom gave light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones the fight of his life.
Silva knocked out Rafael Cavalcante in June on UFC on Fuel TV, followed by a unanimous decision victory over Matt Hamill on UFC Fight Night in October.
Silva has had some controversy in his career as well, highlighted by a suspension for violating the UFC's performance enhancing drug policy that forced them to strip him of a win against Brandon Vera at UFC 125. He returned and lost to Gustafsson, then had a second win overturned due to failing a drug test and coming up positive for marijuana use.
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