Mexican flyweight Edgar Chairez sent shockwaves through the MMA community in March when he revealed on Instagram that he was once shot. While details surrounding the incident remained scarce, the 30-year-old has now shared the full story of the near-fatal encounter. Speaking ahead of his UFC Vegas 118 clash with Bruno Silva on Saturday night, ‘Puro Chicali’ recounted the events that nearly cost him his life.

“It was a friend’s fight on the street,” Chairez told MMA Fighting. “Well, I mean, I was involved because I was there, but no, it wasn’t my fight. So I tried to break them up, and while I was doing that, since I was in the group, they shot at both of us. And well, they shot my friend, like, four times, I only got hit once.”

This incident involving him and his friend dates back a decade, even though he had decided to post the picture in March. In the picture, the 30-year-old can be seen lying on a hospital bed, but clearly happy that he had survived the ordeal. While he may have come out of it with his life, it was after he was hunted by the gunmen during the street fight, after getting shot once. 

“And honestly, I got away only because I ran, but they kept shooting at me until they ran out of bullets,” he added. “But I remember they fired a lot of shots at me. But the good thing was, they were such idiots, they had terrible aim. They only hit me once.

“Mexico is, well, it’s a lot like Brazil, isn’t it? Where many people, it’s the street, many have guns, many break the law, and there are so many idlers… That crime issue is very out of control, and well, I also ended up being involved in one of those situations where people had guns, and I almost lost my life. The good thing is, I’m still here for a reason.”

He may have survived the harrowing ordeal, but little is known about the gunmen involved or whether Mexican authorities investigated the shooting. The fate of Chairez’s friend, who was shot four times, also remains unclear. Yet the rampant crime in Mexico has always been evident. 

According to Vision of Humanity, Mexico currently ranks 135th out of 163 countries on the Global Peace Index, with a score of 2.636, where lower scores indicate more peaceful conditions. While the country ranks below much of Latin America, it fares better than several nations facing severe instability. 

Mexico’s score has improved in recent years, but Chairez’s shooting occurred more than a decade ago, when security conditions were generally considered less favorable than they are today. And interestingly, such incidents involving MMA fighters aren’t rare. 

Just last year in October, former UFC fighter Suman Mokhtarian was shot dead at Riverstone, Sydney’s northwest. Or in July 2025, Timur Khizriev, a Russian PFL fighter, was shot five times in the city of Makhachkala, Dagestan, before being hospitalized. 

In any case, Edgar Chairez has always tried to avoid the lifestyle, which ended up getting him involved in the shooting incident. 

UFC Vegas 118 fighter was never a punk; his first love was football

Later during the interview with MMA Fighting, ‘Puro Chicali’ revealed what his childhood was like. He claimed that gang activity was the farthest thing from his life. 

“From the very beginning, my life was all about sports,” Chairez said. “I mean, I do come from a tough neighborhood, but I wasn’t a gang member, I didn’t even hang out. I mean, my mindset wasn’t about being a street punk, stealing, doing drugs, nothing like that.”

Instead, he always wanted to become a professional footballer, having played the sport from a very young age and continued till the age of 18. 

“My dream was to be a professional footballer. I throw kicks, but in the face, not on the ball anymore, right?”

Having left football behind, he competed across several MMA promotions before joining the UFC in July 2023. He has since gone 3-2-1 inside the promotion, only dropping losses to Tatsuro Taira and current flyweight champion Joshua Van. Chairez is currently riding a two-fight win streak and hopes to continue his winning ways on Saturday night. 

Some fighters fight only inside the cage. Others fought their entire lives to get to this spot. Chairez’s near-death incident is a constant reminder that no one is safe in this world, not even the most skilled.