Mixed martial arts legend Wanderlei Silva's foray into boxing took a bizarre turn, followed by a brutal one. Silva was facing former two-division world champion Acelino Freitas in an exhibition fight at Spaten Fight Night 2 in Sao Paulo, Brazil when he was disqualified after a clearly intentional headbutt.

Exhibition boxing often looks like little more than a glorified sparring match. Bouts between former MMA and boxing stars became a frequent staple of the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rather than the standard easy approach to such a fight, Silva appeared to grow increasingly frustrated as Freitas, who retired from professional competition in 2017 with a career record of 41-2 with 34 knockouts, was clearly the superior boxer.

At one point, Silva pinned Freitas in the corner and ignore

See Full Page