Alexandre Pereira da Silva remains hospitalized a week after attempting to make weight for Shooto Brazil 80.
The Nova Uniao fighter, who was set to face Marcos Silva in his professional debut in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, was rushed to a local hospital after passing out while cutting weight, MMA Fighting has learned. Combate first reported the news.
Da Silva is still in critical condition in the intensive-care unit, according to Brazilian MMA Athlete Commission (CABMMA) COO Cristiano Sampaio.
“The athlete did all the pre-fight exams required by CABMMA, except the physical exam, the only one that wasn’t sent to the athletic commission," Sampaio told MMA Fighting on Saturday, seven days after the official weigh-ins took place. "Since he didn’t give us this last exam, or the pre-weigh-in medical evaluation, and the actual weigh-in, he still wasn’t cleared/licensed for the fight. This exam, according to his team, was done on the day of the incident, but wasn’t sent to the commission.
"We heard about the incident on the day of the weigh-in, told by the leader of the team and the promoter of the event. We went to the hospital to understand the case. The doctors still had no diagnosis of the exact cause. The athlete remains in critical condition in the hospital. We’re following the case closely.”
Shooto president and Nova Uniao head coach Andre Pederneiras recently spoke with Combate about the case.
“According to the hospital doctors, his dehydration is not what caught their attention,” said Pederneiras, claiming that the 21-year-old fighter doesn't cut much weight. “The report indicated ‘heat stroke,’ which is like his body got overheated, which is something rare, but happened.”
This is not the first time an MMA fighter has been hospitalized due to weight-cutting issues in Brazil. In September 2013, Leandro Souza died from a stroke moments before the Shooto Brazil 43 weigh-ins.