A recent addition to the UFC’s flyweight division, Raulian Paiva was no doubt on top of the world. However, following an incident at a nightclub on Sunday, his world has been turned upside down, and his girlfriend left in a coma.
Recent UFC signee Raulian Paiva, who won his way into the promotion on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series Brazil, has been the victim of a vehicular assault and potentially attempted murder, Brazilian media including Globo reported Monday. Paiva (18-1), who fought in August on the Contender Series, and his girlfriend were attacked after leaving a nightclub in Santana, Brazil Sunday morning. The pair, riding a motorcycle, were intentionally struck by a car that followed them from the club, following an incident involving two men harassing Paiva’s girlfriend, Tielly Alves.
Paiva’s manager, Tiago Okamura, spoke to MMA Fighting on Monday, saying that the pair were struck by the car while stopped at a red light. Video of the incident, showing the car dragging the motorcycle, has surfaced in media reports.
Okamura revealed that while Paiva’s injuries were minor after falling from the bike, Alves was dragged for a time by the car, and remains hospitalized and in a coma.
“When the car hit them, looks like Raulian fell off the motorcycle so he just got injured from the fall, but the car dragged the motorcycle with her on it for some time,” Okamura said. “He’s a bit hurt, but nothing serious. She’s still in [a] coma.”
“That was uncalled for, they had no motives,” he continued (via MMA Fighting). “These guys tried to kill them for no reason.” Paiva’s coach Ronildo Nobre later confirmed that two men were arrested following the incident. Their vehicle had reportedly burst into flame.
Video of an unidentified man claiming to be one of the two involved later surfaced on social media. In it, the individual in question claimed that his passenger grabbed the wheel while the car approached the pair, causing the crash.
