Politics and MMA are two words that no one would have ever expected to see in the same sentence, except the jokes about statesmen stepping inside the ring to settle a dispute and come to a conclusiton. However, such a thing has already happened in Brazil- one of the cradles of the sport, where a mayor and an ex-councillman from Brazil solved a disagreement over a waterpark conservation project via three round MMA fight.
Mayor and ex-councillor partake in an MMA fight to resolve disagreement over waterpark conservation in Borba
According to The Guardian, 45-year-old Erineu da Silva, a former councillor, had challenged Simão Peixoto, the 39-year-old conservative mayor of Borba in Amazonas, Brazil, to take it to the cage in a three round mixed martial arts bout, regarding their dispute over the conservation of a waterpark adjacent to the Madeira river which flows through Borba.
As its revealed, Erineu da Silva, who bears the nickname “Mirico”, had called Mayor Peixoto a “crook” and a “rotter”, and accused him of failure in conserving the waterpark and back in September, challenged the mayor to take it to the streets.
Following a grudge video posted online by Peixoto and the uproar it caused among the voters, the mayor had a change in his approach and revealed that he would only accept Silva’s challenge if the fight is conducted in an organised manner.
“I’m not a street fighter … I’m the mayor of the municipality of Borba,” Peixoto spoke on Facebook last month, “[But] if he really wants to fight … we’re ready to fight … I’ve always been a winner.”
The two men agreed to an MMA fight and decided to settle the score inside the cage. The bout took place as part of a bigger event in the gymnasium of a school in Borba and it had commenced around half past 2 in the morning on 13th December.
The fight, which was streamed live by the mayor’s team, started off with Peixoto dropping Silva to the canvas in the opening seconds. The former councillor was able to get up and throughout the three rounds and 13 minute fight, it was Peixoto who emerged victorious after a declaration by the referee, despite Silva landing several low kicks on the mayor.
Check out the fight below, courtesy of Peixoto’s Facebook page.
Highlights:
- Simão Peixoto, the Mayor of Borba and former councillor Erineu da Silva had settled a dispute regarding waterpark conservation by taking it to the cage
- Peixoto won the three round fight via decision
Purchase the UFC merch here.
Click to Predict here