Fighter remains in coma two months after weight cutting collapse
Alexandre Pereira da Silva’s father Magno reports that his son went into a coma at the hospital, and two months later remains in it.
Brazilian featherweight Alexandre Pereira da Silva collapsed as he was making the final weight cut for his professional MMA debut the next day at Shooto Brazil 80, in Rio de Janeiro, on January 28. Pereiras’ cut was reportedly just 8 pounds but he went into convulsions when he exited a hot tub.
The fighter arrived at the hospital in critical condition, suffering from cerebral edema with renal complications. He reportedly suffered a heart attack at the hospital.
Now Guilherme Cruz for MMA Fighting has spoken with Alexandre’s father Magno, and reports that Pereira went into a coma at the hospital. Two months later the fighter remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit and has not woken up.
Nova Uniao founder Andre Pederneiras, coach of the fighter and president of Shooto Brazil, said at the time that Alexandre suffered a heat stroke. Alexandre’s father told Cruz that his son suffered rhabdomyolysis, a syndrome characterized by the leakage of muscle cell contents into the bloodstream, which can lead to kidney damage. The two most common causes of rhabdomyolysis are strenuous exercise and heat stroke.
Magno also said his son had a blood clot in the brain and was fighting an infection. While Pereira’s organ functions have returned, he could go into a vegetative state.
Pereira’s parents traveled over 500 miles from their hometown of Nanuque to watch their son fight in Rio de Janeiro. They have not returned home. This is a ghastly tragedy. And it is preventable.
Pereira was an experienced combat sports athlete, with ten amateur and two pro Muay Thai bouts. He had one amateur MMA fight, a majority decision win over Marcos Silva at Shooto Brazil 73, on May 28, 2017. His pro debut was to have been a rematch vs. Silva. This was not an accident. The fighter was by all accounts following common weight-cutting practices.
Andy Foster, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, crafted a 10 Point Plan to fix the lethal problem. It works. The ABC medical committee supports it. The ABC has adopted it. The UFC supports it and will continue to adopt further parts of it.
The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts shape the sport worldwide. The member athletic commissions of the Association of Boxing Commissions have got to get behind ending the culture of extreme weight cutting in MMA. The alternative is to wait until there is a high-profile death. In the meantime, less well-known fighters are dying and suffering catastrophic injury, with their grieving parents, helpless, at bedside.
