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MMA legend and former PRIDE, UFC nd Bellator veteran Wanderlei Silva seems to have gotten into some trouble over a soccer match in his native Brazil. Born and raised in the city of Curitiba, in the southern region of the country, the ‘Axe Murderer’ is a fan of local club Coritiba, which played local rival Athletico Paranaense in a derby just last Sunday.
Wanderlei Silva lost some bets
The game started in favor of Wanderlei Silva, with Coritiba scoring the first goal, which got the Brazilian excited enough to make things interesting against some Athletico Paranaense fans. However, the rivals got the last laugh when their side managed to turn things around and score a 3 to 2 comeback victory.
It seems that the unexpected result left the MMA legend quite surprised after he lost the bets, because Silva resorted to ask fellow Coritiba supporters to help him pay the debts. In a video that makes it a little difficult to tell whether or not the Brazilian is joking, Silva is seen asking fans to send him money so he can make the payments.
Though it is unclear whether Silva posted the video on his social media or if it was private footage that leaked from a group chat, one aspect of his speech gives it quite a serious note. During his request, the Brazilian requests watchers to make a deposit to his Pix several times, claiming that the number is mentioned below the video. Pix is a money transferring app developed by the Brazilian Government, which has been widely used in the country ever since its implementation in 2020.
“Greetings, coxa branca (‘Coxa Branca is what a Coritiba supporter is called) nation. Yesterday, in the heat of the moment, I made some bets. We were winning 1-0, so I made some bets against some atleticanos (fans of Coritiba’s rival team Athletico Paranaense), but since we lost the match, I ended up losing the bets. So I’m sending my Pix here, so that all of us who are coxas brancas, who are so united, can overcome this situation together. You can see my Pix there. Let’s make that deposit to Wand, so we can honor our pendencies. It’s a coxa solidarity Pix. This is the number.”
Wanderlei Silva recently tried running for Congress
Most recently, Silva has been trying his hand at politics, having run for a chair in the Brazilian Congress for his home state of Parana, but failing in both the 2018 and 2022 elections. During his campaign, he was an avid supporter of former Brazilian far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who did not get re-elected in 2022. On his official Instagram account, the Axe Murderer thanked his fans for the support, claiming that he still had more to learn.
An MMA legend, Wanderlei Silva has been retired from the sport since a TKO loss in his fourth match against Quinton Jackson, in September 2018. During his career, the 46-year-old for his heavy hands and wild style, which earned him 27 knockout wins, as well as seven losses via the same method. Some of the Brazilian’s most notable wins include victories over Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Michael Bisping and the aforementioned ‘Rampage’.
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