Pablo Popovitch on Thiago Silva's Arrest: UFC Veteran Under Influence of Drugs During Attempted Attack
Pablo Popovitch broke his silence about the incident that led to the arrest of MMA veteran Thiago Silva on Thursday in Oakland Park, Fla.
According to an MMA Fighting report, Popovitch said that Silva went into Popovitch's school of mixed martial arts on Thursday night. Silva allegedly parked his car outside of the school and continuously made noise using the horn of his vehicle, which prompted Thaysa, the wife of the MMA veteran, to walk outside of the school.
"During our evening class, at around 7:45pm, Thiago Silva was outside sitting in his car honking the horn non-stop. Thaysa went outside to talk to Thiago to understand what was happening and saw a gun," Popovitch posted on his Facebook account, MMA Fighting reported.
Popovitch, who is a three-time submission world champion, added that he also went out of the school to check the situation, but he was forced to back off after seeing that Silva was armed and looked to be under influence of drugs or alcohol.
"After that, I went to see what was happening and also saw that he had a gun. He seemed to be under the influence of some type of drug whether alcohol or drugs. My staff notified the police at that time, and soon after the police arrived. He took off and the police went after him," Popovitch recalled.
Previous reports also indicated that Popovitch called 911 when he saw that Silva was determined to kill him and Thaysa. Silva left the school and headed back home hurriedly, but was still apprehended by a SWAT team following an armed standoff.
Sources added that Thursday's incident stemmed from previous domestic conflicts between Thiago and Thaysa. Reports suggested that former UFC light heavyweight campaigned shoved a gun into Thaysa's mouth in late January, accusing his wife of cheating.
Popovitch added that Silva has been through a lot of trouble in the past, citing previous battery charges against the Brazilian mixed martial artist.
"Thiago has been charged with battery in the past and was seeing other girls and moving on with his own life," Popovitch noted. "It's very unfortunate that this had to happen, the last thing I wanted us to see Thiago in this manner. I wish him all the best and hope this will soon be over."
After the incident, UFC president Dana White immediately announced the termination of Silva's contract with the promotion, declaring that the 31-year-old Brazilian will never fight in the UFC octagon again.