Manager Recalls Scary Weight Cut That Put Bellator Fighter Into A Coma: ‘If They Had Not Acted That Fast…’

Daiane Silva was put into a medically induced coma this past September after suffering from kidney failure during a difficult weight cut. The Brazilian was set to make her Bellator debut on short notice in London, England which would have seen her compete at featherweight for the first time in her career. It was a […]

Daiane Silva was put into a medically induced coma this past September after suffering from kidney failure during a difficult weight cut. The Brazilian was set to make her Bellator debut on short notice in London, England which would have seen her compete at featherweight for the first time in her career.

It was a long time before this news was made public with many questioning why there wasn’t any health updates coming from the PFL at this time. Donn Davis stated when talking publicly about it for the first time that the promotion made the decision to not put out any statements regarding Silva’s current state out of respect for her family who wanted privacy.

This was recently backed up by Silva’s manager, Alex Davis, who spoke in a recent interview with MMA Fighting about the initial reaction to the situation and how the staff at the promotion worked quickly and effectively to support their fighter.

“It’s very scary,” Davis said. “Daiane and her family all through the process, they didn’t want anything divulged in the media.

“I’m just going to as far as I can go on the medical side — as soon as it happens, Bellator did a very good job. They found out they had a problem, they got a doctor on it. When the doctor saw how serious it was, they got her to the ambulance. They got her to the hospital. If they hadn’t acted [as quickly], mainly Eduardo [Lima], who works for PFL and Bellator during the event, if they had not acted that fast, it could have been a different outcome.”

Davis didn’t find out about Silva’s issues until he woke up the following morning to messages about her being in hospital due to the time difference. He has never experienced anything like this during his time as a veteran manager but through communication with the hospital, Silva’s family, loved ones, coaches and the promotion, they were able to support her.

“We had a group of people working, everybody’s on top of this,” Davis said. “She had an angel, a friend of hers, who was an angel in her life, stayed beside her through thick and thin and is still beside her.

“It seemed like we were going to have to put her in an ambulance plane with a doctor and a nurse to send her back to Brazil. Mike Kogan, Eduardo from Bellator, they never blinked an eye. They said whatever she needs. Whatever is needed. You can only imagine what that would cost but they never blinked.”

The latest update on Silva’s condition was that she had returned to Brazil where she was being treated in a support facility where she was showing promising signs of recovery. Davis stated that a GoFundMe page may be set-up in the near future in order to help the 29-year old fighter fund her medical care.

“Amazingly, she started getting better,” Davis said. “She started showing improvement. Slow improvement with this angel beside her. When you have a situation like this, they start bringing her out of the coma but it’s not like you turn on a switch and she wakes up. No, it happens slowly. She’s coming back slowly and it’s important to have someone there talking and stimulating her. That’s how that process happened.

“She started getting up. She started talking. She was intubated and they managed to take her tubes out and then it was up and up and up. We’re still going up, but she’s not playing basketball yet. There’s still a long road to go until she’s fully healed.”

Manager Recalls Scary Weight Cut That Put Bellator Fighter Into A Coma: ‘If They Had Not Acted That Fast…’

Daiane Silva was put into a medically induced coma this past September after suffering from kidney failure during a difficult weight cut. The Brazilian was set to make her Bellator debut on short notice in London, England which would have seen her compete at featherweight for the first time in her career. It was a […]

Daiane Silva was put into a medically induced coma this past September after suffering from kidney failure during a difficult weight cut. The Brazilian was set to make her Bellator debut on short notice in London, England which would have seen her compete at featherweight for the first time in her career.

It was a long time before this news was made public with many questioning why there wasn’t any health updates coming from the PFL at this time. Donn Davis stated when talking publicly about it for the first time that the promotion made the decision to not put out any statements regarding Silva’s current state out of respect for her family who wanted privacy.

This was recently backed up by Silva’s manager, Alex Davis, who spoke in a recent interview with MMA Fighting about the initial reaction to the situation and how the staff at the promotion worked quickly and effectively to support their fighter.

“It’s very scary,” Davis said. “Daiane and her family all through the process, they didn’t want anything divulged in the media.

“I’m just going to as far as I can go on the medical side — as soon as it happens, Bellator did a very good job. They found out they had a problem, they got a doctor on it. When the doctor saw how serious it was, they got her to the ambulance. They got her to the hospital. If they hadn’t acted [as quickly], mainly Eduardo [Lima], who works for PFL and Bellator during the event, if they had not acted that fast, it could have been a different outcome.”

Davis didn’t find out about Silva’s issues until he woke up the following morning to messages about her being in hospital due to the time difference. He has never experienced anything like this during his time as a veteran manager but through communication with the hospital, Silva’s family, loved ones, coaches and the promotion, they were able to support her.

“We had a group of people working, everybody’s on top of this,” Davis said. “She had an angel, a friend of hers, who was an angel in her life, stayed beside her through thick and thin and is still beside her.

“It seemed like we were going to have to put her in an ambulance plane with a doctor and a nurse to send her back to Brazil. Mike Kogan, Eduardo from Bellator, they never blinked an eye. They said whatever she needs. Whatever is needed. You can only imagine what that would cost but they never blinked.”

The latest update on Silva’s condition was that she had returned to Brazil where she was being treated in a support facility where she was showing promising signs of recovery. Davis stated that a GoFundMe page may be set-up in the near future in order to help the 29-year old fighter fund her medical care.

“Amazingly, she started getting better,” Davis said. “She started showing improvement. Slow improvement with this angel beside her. When you have a situation like this, they start bringing her out of the coma but it’s not like you turn on a switch and she wakes up. No, it happens slowly. She’s coming back slowly and it’s important to have someone there talking and stimulating her. That’s how that process happened.

“She started getting up. She started talking. She was intubated and they managed to take her tubes out and then it was up and up and up. We’re still going up, but she’s not playing basketball yet. There’s still a long road to go until she’s fully healed.”

Manager Recalls Scary Weight Cut That Put Bellator Fighter Into A Coma: ‘If They Had Not Acted That Fast…’

Daiane Silva was put into a medically induced coma this past September after suffering from kidney failure during a difficult weight cut. The Brazilian was set to make her Bellator debut on short notice in London, England which would have seen her compete at featherweight for the first time in her career. It was a […]

Daiane Silva was put into a medically induced coma this past September after suffering from kidney failure during a difficult weight cut. The Brazilian was set to make her Bellator debut on short notice in London, England which would have seen her compete at featherweight for the first time in her career.

It was a long time before this news was made public with many questioning why there wasn’t any health updates coming from the PFL at this time. Donn Davis stated when talking publicly about it for the first time that the promotion made the decision to not put out any statements regarding Silva’s current state out of respect for her family who wanted privacy.

This was recently backed up by Silva’s manager, Alex Davis, who spoke in a recent interview with MMA Fighting about the initial reaction to the situation and how the staff at the promotion worked quickly and effectively to support their fighter.

“It’s very scary,” Davis said. “Daiane and her family all through the process, they didn’t want anything divulged in the media.

“I’m just going to as far as I can go on the medical side — as soon as it happens, Bellator did a very good job. They found out they had a problem, they got a doctor on it. When the doctor saw how serious it was, they got her to the ambulance. They got her to the hospital. If they hadn’t acted [as quickly], mainly Eduardo [Lima], who works for PFL and Bellator during the event, if they had not acted that fast, it could have been a different outcome.”

Davis didn’t find out about Silva’s issues until he woke up the following morning to messages about her being in hospital due to the time difference. He has never experienced anything like this during his time as a veteran manager but through communication with the hospital, Silva’s family, loved ones, coaches and the promotion, they were able to support her.

“We had a group of people working, everybody’s on top of this,” Davis said. “She had an angel, a friend of hers, who was an angel in her life, stayed beside her through thick and thin and is still beside her.

“It seemed like we were going to have to put her in an ambulance plane with a doctor and a nurse to send her back to Brazil. Mike Kogan, Eduardo from Bellator, they never blinked an eye. They said whatever she needs. Whatever is needed. You can only imagine what that would cost but they never blinked.”

The latest update on Silva’s condition was that she had returned to Brazil where she was being treated in a support facility where she was showing promising signs of recovery. Davis stated that a GoFundMe page may be set-up in the near future in order to help the 29-year old fighter fund her medical care.

“Amazingly, she started getting better,” Davis said. “She started showing improvement. Slow improvement with this angel beside her. When you have a situation like this, they start bringing her out of the coma but it’s not like you turn on a switch and she wakes up. No, it happens slowly. She’s coming back slowly and it’s important to have someone there talking and stimulating her. That’s how that process happened.

“She started getting up. She started talking. She was intubated and they managed to take her tubes out and then it was up and up and up. We’re still going up, but she’s not playing basketball yet. There’s still a long road to go until she’s fully healed.”

Manager Recalls Scary Weight Cut That Put Bellator Fighter Into A Coma: ‘If They Had Not Acted That Fast…’

Daiane Silva was put into a medically induced coma this past September after suffering from kidney failure during a difficult weight cut. The Brazilian was set to make her Bellator debut on short notice in London, England which would have seen her compete at featherweight for the first time in her career. It was a […]

Daiane Silva was put into a medically induced coma this past September after suffering from kidney failure during a difficult weight cut. The Brazilian was set to make her Bellator debut on short notice in London, England which would have seen her compete at featherweight for the first time in her career.

It was a long time before this news was made public with many questioning why there wasn’t any health updates coming from the PFL at this time. Donn Davis stated when talking publicly about it for the first time that the promotion made the decision to not put out any statements regarding Silva’s current state out of respect for her family who wanted privacy.

This was recently backed up by Silva’s manager, Alex Davis, who spoke in a recent interview with MMA Fighting about the initial reaction to the situation and how the staff at the promotion worked quickly and effectively to support their fighter.

“It’s very scary,” Davis said. “Daiane and her family all through the process, they didn’t want anything divulged in the media.

“I’m just going to as far as I can go on the medical side — as soon as it happens, Bellator did a very good job. They found out they had a problem, they got a doctor on it. When the doctor saw how serious it was, they got her to the ambulance. They got her to the hospital. If they hadn’t acted [as quickly], mainly Eduardo [Lima], who works for PFL and Bellator during the event, if they had not acted that fast, it could have been a different outcome.”

Davis didn’t find out about Silva’s issues until he woke up the following morning to messages about her being in hospital due to the time difference. He has never experienced anything like this during his time as a veteran manager but through communication with the hospital, Silva’s family, loved ones, coaches and the promotion, they were able to support her.

“We had a group of people working, everybody’s on top of this,” Davis said. “She had an angel, a friend of hers, who was an angel in her life, stayed beside her through thick and thin and is still beside her.

“It seemed like we were going to have to put her in an ambulance plane with a doctor and a nurse to send her back to Brazil. Mike Kogan, Eduardo from Bellator, they never blinked an eye. They said whatever she needs. Whatever is needed. You can only imagine what that would cost but they never blinked.”

The latest update on Silva’s condition was that she had returned to Brazil where she was being treated in a support facility where she was showing promising signs of recovery. Davis stated that a GoFundMe page may be set-up in the near future in order to help the 29-year old fighter fund her medical care.

“Amazingly, she started getting better,” Davis said. “She started showing improvement. Slow improvement with this angel beside her. When you have a situation like this, they start bringing her out of the coma but it’s not like you turn on a switch and she wakes up. No, it happens slowly. She’s coming back slowly and it’s important to have someone there talking and stimulating her. That’s how that process happened.

“She started getting up. She started talking. She was intubated and they managed to take her tubes out and then it was up and up and up. We’re still going up, but she’s not playing basketball yet. There’s still a long road to go until she’s fully healed.”

Donn Davis Causes A Stir By Claiming Bellator Fighters ‘Got Way More Fights’ Than PFL Counterparts In 2024

Donn Davis, founder and chairman of the Professional Fighters League (PFL), continues to dismiss any suggestion that his promotion hasn’t done right by fighters it acquired through the Bellator acquisition. Davis and the PFL have come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks after a number of fighters went public with their complaints about management. Most […]

Donn Davis, founder and chairman of the Professional Fighters League (PFL), continues to dismiss any suggestion that his promotion hasn’t done right by fighters it acquired through the Bellator acquisition.

Davis and the PFL have come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks after a number of fighters went public with their complaints about management.

Most notably, champions Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and Patchy Mix marked some of the unhappy ex-Bellator stars who were left without their desired number of fights in 2024 — the first full calendar year post-the PFL’s purchase of its rival organization. That led to them even requesting their release from the PFL on social media.

The promotion hasn’t released an official statement, however, and its founder has been largely dismissive of the fighters’ complaints in his recent LinkedIn and X posts.

And after previously insisting he and his colleagues did “the best” they could, Davis’ latest comments have once again failed to take the likes of “Pitbull” and Mix’s thoughts seriously.

Davis wrote on social media Wednesday, claiming that Bellator fighters actually “got way more fights” than PFL athletes in 2024 in spite of the numerous canceled Champions Series cards.

Of course, the addition of context to Davis’ figures does little to help his case.

While plenty of fighters were added to the PFL’s season format, where they competed numerous times, that doesn’t change the fact that Freire, Mix, Danny Sabatello and the like made the walk just once.

It’s hard to imagine those sidelined fighters will be changing their stance on a push for more activity as long as others were handed two or three times more appearances in the cage.

Unsurprisingly, Davis’ latest attempt at pushing away fighter complains did not go down well with the MMA community online — to say the least.

PFL Announces Major Change To Ruleset For 2025: ‘You Asked For…’

We haven’t been in 2025 for long but the PFL has already announced a major change to the promotion going forward. One of the most talked about criticisms of the action that takes place inside the Smart Cage has been the removal of one of the most dangerous weapons in mixed martial arts. Elbows are […]

We haven’t been in 2025 for long but the PFL has already announced a major change to the promotion going forward. One of the most talked about criticisms of the action that takes place inside the Smart Cage has been the removal of one of the most dangerous weapons in mixed martial arts.

Elbows are an incredibly important weapon in a fighter’s arsenal, especially for grapplers who do their best work when they’re on top of their opponents, raining down strikes. However, due to the promotion’s tournament format, they have not been allowed in the PFL’s ruleset because it makes it more difficult for fighters to make the required turnarounds throughout the season due to the cuts that elbows often open up.

For a long time, fans have argued that whilst this may be the case, they should be given the all clear for elbows in championship fights and in this area, the PFL made a change by allowing this form of striking technique in the 2024 World Championships. Across that event alone, we saw some devastating elbows once they were unlocked with Dakota Ditcheva in particular making the case for why this ruleset should become permanent with her ruthless display against Taila Santos.

The promotion have finally responded to this feedback from the fans and the fighters via a recent social media post from PFL founder Donn Davis who announced that from now, elbows will be allowed in every PFL fight. 2024 may have been a mixed bag for the promotion overall but this is a step in the right direction regarding the product itself.

“New Year … New Adjustments YOU asked for ELBOWS @PFLMMA is giving you elbows! All elbows. All fights. All the time. #PFLMMA 2025 … COMING”