By Chamatkar Sandhu
Thiago Silva has been arrested and now faces multiple charges, including two counts of commit/attempt specified felony could cause death, aggravated battery with deadly weapon, and resisting officer-obstruct without violence.
NBC news in South Florida reported Thursday night that an armed suspect entered a Jiu Jitsu school in Oakland Park, FL and threatened people there before the Broward Sheriff’s Office was called at about 7:45 p.m. The address listed, 777 E. Oakland Park Blvd., was of the Pablo Popovitch Mixed Martial Arts Academy.
The reported suspect left the facility and locked himself inside what was reported to be his home at 2041 Coral Heights Blvd., in Fort Lauderdale, the home owned by UFC fighter Thiago Silva.
A SWAT team set up a perimeter around the home, and at about 11:15 p.m., the person in the home, whose name was not released by police, was taken into custody.
Popovitch is the trainer of Thaysa Silva, the wife of Thiago Silva, and a high level competitive black belt in BJJ.
UFC officials released the following statement late Thursday night.
“This evening, we were made aware of a situation involving Thiago Silva. We are in the process of gathering the facts and have no further comment at this time.”
Silva, who has a 16-3 record with 2 no contests, was scheduled to face Ovince St. Preux at UFC 171 on March 15 in Dallas, Tex.
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