One of the sisters stabbed by UFC fighter Irwin Rivera said on Friday that her brother was not acting like himself in the days leading up to Thursday’s incident.
Rivera’s sisters, Lezlye and Kelly, remain hospitalized, but in stable condition, the fighter’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told ESPN.
On Friday, in a Facebook post, Lezlye wrote that Rivera was not sleeping, did not speak as usual and had completely lost interest in MMA training, which is what “he lives to do”. Lezlye said he flew to visit Rivera in Florida because of his bizarre behavior.
“Unfortunately, his mental stage was worse than we could [have] imagined and before we could help him, he broke down completely, “wrote Lezlye.
“His mindset has been completely corrupted into something unrecognizable.”
According to an ESPN Boynton Beach Police Department incident report, Rivera, who was arrested on Thursday, admitted that he tried to kill his two sisters by stabbing them with a knife in the early hours of the morning. Rivera said, according to the report, that killing his sisters was his purpose, told him by “a higher power”.
Rivera first appeared in court on Friday morning and is now being held at a behavioral health center after the court granted an emergency motion, according to online records. He has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and is being held without bail.
Abdelaziz said Rivera was “very respectful” and a favorite of his Dominance MMA management team. He called Rivera’s actions unusual and, like Rivera’s sisters, he wants the fighter to receive mental health assistance.
“His sisters support him 100 percent,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “They said, ‘My brother is a good and beautiful human being and needs help.’ They said it wasn’t really him. “
In the Facebook post, Lezlye wrote that she and her family “wish [Rivera] to get the professional mental help he needs so badly. “
Rivera’s mother, Susana Campos, told the Mexican newspaper Milenio that her son “lost his memory and something bad took over him a few days ago. His mind was blocked. He was not himself”.
Rivera, a 31-year-old Mexican resident in Florida, debuted in the UFC last May and was 1-2 in 2020. He is a former bantamweight champion of Titan FC.
In a statement on Thursday, the UFC said it was investigating the “extremely worrying” situation and would not offer a fight for Rivera at this time.