Acelino Freitas’ Son Identified as the Man Who KO’d Wanderlei Silva During Wild Brawl
More details are emerging regarding the wild post-fight brawl that saw UFC legend Wanderlei Silva knocked out cold following his fight against Acelino Freitas.
Scheduled for an exhibition bout against the former WBA and WBO world champion at Spaten Fight Night 2 in Brazil, Silva was disqualified in the fourth round after repeatedly headbutting ‘Popo’ in the clinch. Once the fight was called, both teams poured into the ring, engaging in a free-for-all that saw Silva jump right into the mix.
After getting hit in the back of the head during the fracas ‘The Axe Murderer’ ate a right hand from the same individual that sent him crashing to the canvas unconscious.
As it turns out, the man who KO’d Silva was none other than Freitas’ son, Rafael.
Silva was rushed to São Luiz Hospital, where he received stitches around his left eye before being discharged.
Freitas released a statement, apologizing for the scuffle.
“I didn’t come here to tarnish anyone’s image, or to start a fight or a disturbance,” Freitas said. “I came here to put on a show for you, to do my best. If Wanderlei headbutted me, if he elbowed me, it was between him and me and no one else. Neither my team nor his team should get involved. The fight here is between him and me.”
Acelino Freitas and Fabricio Werdum play the blame game
Freitas ultimately blamed Silva’s team, which included Wanderlei’s son Thor and former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, for the incident.
“We tried delivering you a perfect show, and I end up beat by his coach out of nowhere,” he said. “Another guy tried to rear-naked choke me, almost chokes me out.
“I’d like to apologize to Ambev and Spaten. But I’m telling you, we had no fault. Cowardly, it was his team. And I don’t know why they put Werdum in this event. This guy only does s–t in other people’s events. Werdum, be ashamed. If I were you, I’d be ashamed. There’s video of you all over me, trying to hit me.”
Of course, Werdum was quick to place the blame on Freitas’ crew, who he says outnumbered them by a significant margin.
“[Andre] Dida, Thor and I entered the ring when it was all over and Wanderlei was disqualified,” Werdum said. “A lot of people entered from Popo’s side. I think it was 20 of them and only me, Wanderlei, Thor, and Dida. We were reacting to their attacks. They started screaming and coming at us, and we were only four.”
