UFC fighter Irwin Rivera jailed for first-degree attempted murder

Picture COurtesy: MMAFighting.com
Picture COurtesy: MMAFighting.com

UFC bantamweight fighter Irwin Rivera was arrested and detained on Thursday for two counts of first-degree premeditated murder.

Online arrest records for the Palm Beach County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office shows that Rivera was booked into custody at 12:08 p.m. on Thursday at the Main Detention Center in West Palm Beach. No bond has been set for the 31-year-old fighter as of yet. Multiple requests for comment to the office’s public information officer remained unreturned, and a dispatch officer told them he couldn’t provide any information on the case.

Rivera’s manager Ali Abdelaziz did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A UFC official provided a statement to MMA Fighting confirming Rivera’s career is on pause pending an investigation.

“UFC is aware of the recent incident involving Irwin Rivera and subsequently received information from his management that he has been exhibiting behavior consistent with mental health issues,” read the statement from UFC. “The allegations are extremely troubling and the organization is currently gathering additional information. The investigation is ongoing and any potential next steps including disciplinary action or medical attention will be determined upon the conclusion. Furthermore, UFC has informed Rivera’s management that he will not be offered a bout at this time.”

According to MMA reporter Eric Kowal, who had first reported Rivera’s detainment said the fighter was taken into custody on suspicion of stabbing his sisters to death. Other details on the assertions against the UFC veteran were insufficient.

First-degree premeditated murder charges carry a potential death sentence or life imprisonment in Florida.

Online records show that Rivera lives in Boynton Beach, Fla. The latest fight he fought in the octagon was this past October when he lost a split decision to Andre Ewell at UFC Vegas 11. A former Titan FC champ, he is 1-2 in three UFC outings.

MMA Fighting has acquired a police report, which includes disturbing details of the incident
According to the report, Rivera’s 22-year-old sister was found “lying adjacent to the roadway covered in blood with multiple wounds throughout her back, head, and arm.” She informed police that she had been stabbed and that her sister was in the house and had also been attacked. Rivera’s 33-year-old sister was then discovered inside his residence “covered in blood with multiple wounds throughout the back, face, arms, and hands.”

His neighbors provided sworn statements that one of the sisters came to their door and that they called the police and affirmatively identified Rivera.

The two sisters were staying at Rivera’s place when he attacked them in the middle of the night. Rivera was apprehended by officers from the Daytona Beach Police Department in the early morning after officers canvassed the area. In a sworn taped interview, he admitted to stabbing both sisters with a brass-knuckle knife, claiming “he killed both of his sisters and said that he did so because it was his purpose, which he was told by a higher power.”

Publish : 2021-01-08 10:24:00

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