Wanderlei Silva 'going after justice,' plans to sue over post-fight brawl injuries

MMA legend Wanderlei Silva returned to the ring last weekend in an exhibition bout in Sao Paulo, Brazil against former Brazilian boxing champion Rafael Freitas. The bout didn't look like an exhibition bout, though. 

Silva, known for his aggressive style, took the fight to Freitas. On at least three occasions, Silva head-butted Freitas. In the fourth frame, the referee had seen enough and disqualified "The Axe Murderer" for the repeated fouls. What happened next was bedlam. 

Both teams rushed the ring and a melee ensued. In the wild brawl, the former PRIDE FC champion was viciously knocked unconscious by Freitas's son. As Silva was laid out on the canvas, the brawl continued around him. His limp body was dragged by his arms to the corner to protect him from further damage. Silva suffered multiple injuries due to the attack and plans to sue.

“I had several work to do but I can’t because of my face,” Silva said in a social media post. “I can’t sleep, I’m in a lot of pain, in such discomfort. That can’t stay like that. That was undoubtedly a criminal act, and every criminal act has to be judged by the justice. And I’m going after justice.”

“I broke my two orbital (bones), I have my nose broken in four places,” Silva continued. “I was assaulted in criminal fashion by ‘Popo’s’ son, who invaded the ring. He invaded the ring hitting me with two punches to the back of the head. Then, he landed the punch that opened a seven-stitch cut around my eye.”

“I’m very upset, I’m really hurt,” he said. “Hurt in the inside, hurt in the outside. Watching that scene, me laying on the ground and people — who weren’t even security because the event had no security — dragging me, right? What a horrible scene, you know?”

In his prime, Silva was one of the most aggressive, violent and intimidating MMA fighters to grace the cage or ring. At 49, those days are distant images in the rearview mirror.