Ex-UFC Fighter Arrested for Allegedly Assaulting Taxi Driver

By Brian Jones

Former UFC Fighter Alessio Di Chirico was arrested in Spain after an altercation with a taxi driver. According to the Italian news outlet Diario de Ibiza (per Sports Illustrated), Di Chirico was on vacation with his wife and two children on Es Pujols on Monday. The family reportedly got into a taxi after dinner and was told one of them would have to sit in the front seat due to safety regulations. This led to Di Chirico getting angry at the driver while riding back to the hotel. The former UFC star allegedly paid the driver before punching him in the face without warning. 

The altercation was reportedly caught on hotel security cameras, but the footage was not released to the public. The taxi driver was taken to a local hospital as his cheekbone was fractured and his right eye was damaged, according to Body Elbow. Di Chirico was immediately arrested but has been released from jail. 

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Di Chirico, 33, last competed in UFC in September when he lost to Roman Kopylov in Paris. Following the loss, Di Chirico announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. "I wrote this message hundreds of times, hot blooded, cold blooded, alone, after talking about it with the people I love and every version got me crying," Di Chirico wrote in a message posted to social media. "This is a message to all my fans: … Sadly, it was not enough. Sadly I gave you another defeat. I can't think about how hard the people who really love me suffered for me and with me throughout my career, I'm sorry for every one who just cared about me even if we don't know each other, I'm so grateful. I think it's time to move to another chapter in my life. I know that's not coming back from there, I know I will miss it so badly. I know it's the right time to stop. …"

Di Chirico finished with an MMA record of 13-7 and 4-7 in UFC action. During his time in UFC, Di Chirico won Performance of the Night for his wins against Oluwale Bamgbose and Joaquin Buckley. Di Chirico won his first nine MMA matches before losing to Bojan Veličković in his UFC debut in 2016. 

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