Former UFC Fighter Wanderlei Silva Injured After Being Hit by Car on His Bike

Former UFC star Wanderlei Silva suffered multiple injuries after getting hit by a car while riding his bike in Curitiba, Brazil, on Wednesday night.

Silva told Tribuna (h/t Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting) that he suffered a fractured right foot and abrasions on his face.

Silva added: "I could even have died if I wasn't wearing a helmet. People have to be more careful in traffic. It's hard to ride bikes in Curitiba."

Per Cruz, Silva was also hit by a car while riding his bike in Brazil in 2016 after leaving the gym. At the time, Silva said the incident made him "rethink [his] life" and "grow a lot."

The 43-year-old is among the best-known MMA fighters of all time. He owns a career record of 35-14-1 and has 12 UFC bouts on his resume. He also competed for Pride earlier in his career and most recently fought twice for Bellator.

Silva is a former Pride Middleweight champion, and although he never won a title in UFC, he faced several huge names such as Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

His most recent fight was nearly two years ago at Bellator 206 where he lost to Jackson by technical knockout in the second round. He also lost to Chael Sonnen by unanimous decision in his previous Bellator contest.

Silva's Bellator contract expired in 2019, and although he hasn't fought since 2018, he hasn't officially retired, either.

Silva told Cruz in May that he would have interest in either fighting Mike Tyson in a bare-knuckle boxing match or Belfort in an MMA bout.