Turns out it may have been just a big misunderstanding.
That's what Scott Saul, attorney for Thiago Silva, had to say about his client, who is currently behind bars and awaiting formal charges from the State of Florida (mug shot). Silva was arrested last week after a domestic incident involving his wife and Pablo Popovitch led to an armed standoff with police.
Or so we thought.
Saul spoke to Evelyn Rodrigues of Combate to insist Silva's case was being sensationalized by the media and that the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight is not the out-of-control maniac the police report makes him out to be.
"So far it is a claim, Thiago was not guilty of anything. He was not even officially accused of anything. The version that is in the media was given by the police report. To explain how it works in Florida, the attorney will take around 30 days to render a decision. So that's the problem now. I must do what I can to convince the prosecutor that, independent of the police recorded in the bulletin, things did not happen exactly like that. It may be that what Thiago's wife said has been taken out of context, I don't know. There were many people there at the time, many police, but they didn't witness anything serious.
When I arrived, the police had blocked four blocks, there were helicopters, SWAT teams wearing camouflage uniforms and they would not give us access to the spot. Eventually, I ended up staying in the same place where the wife of Pablo was with two of her friends and the police though, for some reason, needed to use these people in some sort of hostage negotiation. None of it was true, not even the police report. He didn't evade the police, not threatened the police or anything. He didn't resist on the arrest. Even in the police report, the only thing they said is that it was up to them, and remember that he was very drunk when he was arrested, then Thiago was accused of showing his middle finger and getting back into the apartment. And I think what happened is that he was drunk and the cops were knocking on the door, he was asleep, opened the door to the police and surrendered. There was no reason for this, they did not need to have him beaten and even when we went to trial, they kept saying that Thiago was a professional fighter, but at any time he tried to use violence to resist on the arrest. Had he fought against someone, it would be different, but the fact that he is a professional athlete is not related to anything. It's not because he is fighter he is more dangerous than someone who is not."
See a copy of the police report here.
Silva was jailed without bond after the prosecution convinced the judge the Brazilian was a potential flight risk, as well as a threat to the community. Shortly after his preliminary hearing concluded (video), ZUFFA lowered the boom and terminated Silva's contract.
Or, at least until he clears his name.