Wanderlei Silva Hospitalized After Post-Fight Brawl, Suffers fractured Nose
Sao paulo, Brazil - September 28, 2025 – MMA legend Wanderlei Silva, 49, received treatment at a hospital Saturday following a chaotic post-fight brawl after his exhibition boxing match against acelino Freitas in Sao Paulo. Silva suffered a fractured nose and required facial stitches, according to his cornerman and former UFC champion Fabricio Werdum.
Silva was disqualified in the fourth round of the bout for repeated illegal headbutts against Freitas, 50. Immediately following the disqualification, a brawl erupted involving members of both fighters’ camps. During the scuffle, Silva was struck by a right hand and fell to the floor. Brazilian media identified the punch as being thrown by Freitas’ son, Rafael.
“The images don’t lie,” Werdum posted on social media in Portuguese. “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.”
Acelino Freitas, a former boxing champion, placed blame on Silva’s corner, specifically Werdum, who engaged in physical altercations with Freitas and his team before Silva was struck.
“when the fight ended, the referee disqualified Wanderlei for the three headbutts, his coach went after me and punched me,” Freitas said on social media. “Wanderlei, the fight was between you and me and had nothing to do with the team. If you headbutted me, cool, I don’t care. But unfortunately,Werdum cowardly entered the ring with your son and went all over everybody. And I saw that someone also punched you.”
Spaten Fight Night, the promotion hosting the event, released a statement saying the events did not align with thier values of “sportsmanship and respect to the rules.” As of Saturday, neither the promotion nor the Brazilian National Boxing Council had announced any disciplinary action.
The boxing match marked Silva’s first since his retirement from MMA in 2018. he originally was scheduled to face fellow Brazilian MMA veteran Vitor Belfort, but Belfort withdrew and was replaced by Freitas on short notice. The exhibition bout was scheduled for eight rounds,with silva weighing in 44 pounds heavier than Freitas at the weigh-in.
