An MMA Thanksgiving: 2014 All-Turkey Team

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Thiago Silva and the UFC

The Silva debacle began outside a Florida jiu-jitsu school in February, when the UFC light heavyweight allegedly threatened to shoot the whole place to smithereens because of a relationship his estranged wife, Thaysa Kamiji, had with the owner of the academy, Pablo Popovitch.

Silva then barricaded himself inside his home and was surrounded by a Broward County Sheriff’s SWAT team before finally being taken into custody. Although two initial charges of felony attempted murder were eventually downgraded to aggravated assault with a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, the Brazilian’s actions made the UFC’s decision to terminate his contract a relatively simple one.

“This guy will never fight in the UFC again,” Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White told TMZ.

Easy decision, right? Apparently not. In September, a Florida judge dropped all charges against Silva because the alleged victim had become uncooperative and had likely moved out of the country. Now, one does not have to read too far between the lines to realize Kamiji fled the country out of fear, not because the whole story was a fabrication. That, however, was enough for White, who declared Silva “untainted” after making it through the legal process.

“When this thing went down, I said he’d never fight in the UFC again. When I watched it unfold on TV and heard of the charges, it didn’t look good for Thiago Silva,” White told UFC.com, “but he was acquitted of all charges. How do you not let the guy fight again?”

How do you not let Silva fight again? When video surfaces that shows said fighter searching his estranged wife’s house allegedly under the influence of cocaine while carrying a concealed weapon, that is how. Suddenly, Silva’s reputation was looking decidedly more tainted. A mere two weeks after his reinstatement, Silva’s UFC contract was terminated yet again.

“Thiago Silva was released from his UFC contract on Feb. 7 due to his arrest by police in South Florida. The charges against Silva were dropped by the Broward County District Attorney’s office, and Silva was re-signed to the UFC earlier this month,” the statement read. “Based on new information received today in the form of video and audio evidence, Silva has been terminated from his UFC contract.”

Throughout his Octagon tenure, Silva was known to punctuate his victories with a menacing throat-slash gesture. It would have been better for all parties involved if the UFC had immediately elected to sever all ties with the Brazilian fighter in a similarly emphatic manner.

Continue Reading » Josh Grispi