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In one of the more disturbing MMA news stories in recent memory, UFC Welterweight Mike Perry has fallen into the spotlight due to his ex-wife coming forward to accuse him of domestic abuse.
UFC President Dana White once stated that “you don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman”. But despite his attempts at ensuring his promotion has a zero-tolerance policy towards any fighter who perpetrates domestic violence, there have still been plenty of UFC fighters involved in these kinds of scandals.
A statistic unearthed by HBO Sports in 2015 suggested that the amount of domestic violence arrests involving MMA fighters is more than double the average national rate in the US. And it’s likely that Mike Perry won’t be the only fighter embroiled in this kind of controversy going forward.
With that in mind, here are 5 UFC fighters who were caught up in domestic abuse scandals.
#1 Mike Perry
We may as well begin with the most recent domestic abuse scandal involving a UFC fighter, in this case Welterweight contender Mike Perry. An outspoken, entertaining fighter, prior to this week, Perry’s name had only been in the news for a bizarre reason.
Booked to face Robbie Lawler at UFC 255, Perry attempted to offer his fans a chance to pay money to corner him – only for rival Darren Till to attempt to win the so-called sweepstakes.
That was all fun and games, but the accusations that have been levelled at ‘Platinum’ this week most certainly are not. According to Perry’s ex-wife Danielle Nickerson, the Welterweight became violent with her back in February, an incident that eventually led her to leave the fighter. The couple have since divorced.
The accusations are disturbing to say the least. According to Nickerson, Perry always had a temper, but was never violent until he went on a “horrible downward spiral” following his loss to Geoff Neal in December 2019.
Nickerson has gone onto state that Perry assaulted her with what she describes as “ground-and-pound” until she was able to flee from him with the help of Perry’s mother.
Perry has gone on record to state a full denial of the incident, but the evidence – including an audio clip of a 911 call made by his mother which states that he was “violent” – appears to be damning.
As of the time of writing, no charges have been levelled against Perry. In fact, Nickerson was denied a protective order against the Welterweight in July, around the same time that Perry was forced to seek treatment for alcohol dependency. However, in the most recent report, she has claimed that she withheld details in order to prevent Perry’s career from being ruined.
Quite where this story will go next is anyone’s guess, but it’s safe to say that we probably haven’t heard the last of it yet.
#2 Greg Hardy
As was previously mentioned, UFC President Dana White has always spoken out vehemently about fighters involved in domestic abuse scandals, essentially promising a zero-tolerance policy. However, many observers have scoffed at these claims, and most point at the 2018 signing of hulking Heavyweight Greg Hardy as evidence that they aren’t exactly true.
A former NFL player with the Carolina Panthers, Hardy was inked by the UFC following two wins on Dana White’s Contender Series and has since gone 3-1-1 in the promotion. However, even before he’d made his full UFC debut, controversy surrounded ‘The Prince of War’ due to his murky past.
In 2014, Hardy was arrested for assault after being accused of attacking and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend. Reportedly, the Heavyweight threw her around and then placed his hands around her throat.
Despite denying the accusations, Hardy was convicted on two accounts of domestic violence – only to appeal the sentence and eventually have the charges expunged from his record. Reportedly, the reason for this expunging was that his ex-girlfriend failed to appear in court to give her testimony.
While the NFL were willing to wash their hands of Hardy – he was suspended for 10 games and then found himself without a team when the Dallas Cowboys opted not to re-sign him – the same could not be said for the UFC.
Instead, White himself went against his own claims by stating that “everybody deserves a second chance”, basically defending the decision because Hardy had not actually been sentenced.
Either way, while Hardy has not become embroiled in any further out-of-cage controversy since joining the UFC, it’s clear from the negative reaction he receives from fans that his past has not yet been forgotten.
#3 Rachael Ostovich
Not all of the scandals involving UFC fighters and domestic violence have seen the fighter act as the perpetrator. Unfortunately, more than one of the UFC’s female fighters have in fact been the victim of domestic abuse, and one of them is current Flyweight contender Rachael Ostovich.
Ostovich, who was part of the cast on season 26 of The Ultimate Fighter, made her full UFC debut in December 2017 and defeated Karine Gevorgyan via armbar. However, shortly after making her second Octagon appearance, Ostovich became the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her husband.
In November 2018, reports surfaced that Arnold Berdon – himself a professional MMA fighter with a record of 7-2 on the regional circuit – had been arrested and charged with attempted murder after attacking Ostovich. The UFC star suffered a broken orbital bone during the attack, and ended up filing a restraining order against her husband.
While the charges levelled at Berdon were eventually downgraded to second-degree assault, May 2019 saw the case head to court. There, despite initially trying to claim self-defense, Berdon was sentenced to four years of probation for his actions, while Ostovich stated that she “had the power to move on, walking in forgiveness”.
Since the incident, Ostovich has continued her career with the UFC, last being seen in a defeat to Paige VanZant in January 2019. Following this, she was suspended by USADA for a positive drug test, but recent reports have linked her to a fight with Gina Mazany next month.
#4 Thiago Silva
One of the more bizarre and disturbing scandals involving a UFC fighter and domestic violence saw Light-Heavyweight contender Thiago Silva arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder in February 2014. The incident eventually led to the Brazilian being released by the UFC, although exact details of what happened are somewhat murky.
According to most reports, Silva was arrested following an incident that saw him threaten his wife Thaysa and her new partner, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Pablo Popovitch, with a handgun at Popovitch’s gym. The incident saw the police called, and when Silva fled, a stand-off with a SWAT team followed before the fighter eventually surrendered himself.
When disturbing police reports then surfaced, suggesting that Silva had been involved in domestic abuse prior to the incident – including threatening his wife with a gun – the UFC decided to terminate his contract.
However, six months later, things took a bizarre turn when all charges against Silva were dropped. Reports suggested that Thaysa had been “uncooperative” with the investigation and it was later stated that she’d returned to Brazil.
Incredibly, this was enough for the UFC to re-sign him – with Dana White stating that “he went through the legal process and came out of it untainted”. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Just days later, the promotion cut ties with the Brazilian, citing “new information” on the case that they’d been made aware of.
Silva has not fought in the UFC since, although he continues to fight on the regional circuit, most recently competing in Poland in May 2019.
#5 Andrea Lee
Current UFC Flyweight contender Andrea ‘KGB’ Lee is one of the division’s more popular fighters thanks to her distinctive look, exciting fighting style, and charisma. Unfortunately, 2018 saw her hit the news for the wrong reasons when she was named as the victim in a shocking domestic abuse scandal.
Lee’s husband Donny Aaron had already made headlines in MMA circles when fans spotted a swastika tattooed on his left arm in a photo posted by the fighter on social media. However, much worse was to come when a warrant was put out for Aaron’s arrest in August 2018 following allegations of domestic violence.
According to reports, Aaron had attacked Lee, choking her and threatening to put a cigarette out on her arm. While Lee went on to issue a statement explaining that she was handling the situation to the best of her ability and wished that the issue wasn’t taking place in a public forum, it would be some time before Aaron faced justice.
Incredibly, the kickboxing instructor was only arrested in May 2019 after going on the run following the warrant being placed out on him. While Aaron was then jailed on charges of domestic battery and false imprisonment, no further information has been released regarding a trial.
As for Lee, ‘KGB’ has continued to fight successfully in the UFC and has put together a 3-3 record in the promotion at the time of writing.
