Wanderlei Silva banned for life from fighting, vows to fight
Wanderlei Silva received a lifetime suspension, and was fined $70,000 today by the NAC, following his refusal to take a PED test back in May.
In May, Silva refused a Performance Enhancing Drug test administered by the Nevada Athletic Commission, literally running from it.
Silva had been scheduled to fight Chael Sonnen at UFC 175. Silva was replaced with Vitor Belfort. Then Sonnen ran afoul of an out-of-competition test, and retired.
In a series of interviews and videos, Wand variously declared that he had tested himself and would be ready in two months, that the NAC had no jurisdiction over him, and called out several fighters.
UFC president Dana White respectfully reminded Silva that in all likelihood, he would not in fact be fighting in two months.
“I’m not the athletic commission, but I think he’s very wrong,” said White. “I think he’s in big trouble. You can not run away from a test. You can’t do it, and it sets a very bad precedent. He would have been better off taking the test and testing positive than running from the test. But I’m not a commission member. Maybe I’m wrong and he’s right. We’ll see what happens.”
White was right.
When you run from a test, that’s about the worst thing you can do, said NAC chair Francisco Aguilar today.
After initially attributing the test avoidance to a language issue, Silva appeared at an earlier NAC hearing and admitted to running, saying he did so as he taken prohibited diuretics, to help him recover from a wrist injury. Another hearing was ordered.
Silva’s lawyer Ross Goodman then filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, arguing that the NAC had no jurisdiction when the attempt was made to administer the drug test. The commission disagreed, and required the fighter to appear at today’s hearing. Silva promptly retired, posting a bitter video.
The punishment handed out today was more severe than expected. Wanderlei Silva received a lifetime suspension, and was fined $70,000, (35% of the $200,000 show money he would have received for UFC 175.
The commission explained that the fine could be sent to a collection agency if the fighter refused to pay.
It did not help that Silva skipped the hearing for skipping the drug test, and refused to appear even via phone. He was represented instead by Goodman. The attorney promised to appeal today’s ruling to district court within 30 days.
Silva offered a more blunt response, via social networks.
“Thank you my friends, you got the power and you give it for whoever you want,” he tweeted. “Thank you very much for everything. And those who are trying to take me down, come get it. War is just beginning, sons of b—–s. They will see that we’re the ones who run this s—, bunch of playboys.”
He posted on Instagram:
“No way! My fans no body take, thanks my guys! Doesn’t matter, we’re too many. We’re going to show our strength. You want a brawl, come to me and you’ll have, motherf—ers!!!!”
Silva was once perhaps the most loved fighter in the sport. It is heartbreaking to see his career end in this fashion.
And this is going to happen again.
Only a handful of fighters have been subject to out of competition testing, and already two popular figures, Wand and Chael Sonnen, have retired because of it. Marc Ratner, UFC vice-president of regulatory affairs, said recently that random, out-of-competition testing is coming to the UFC, in 2015.
If there is a single message that comes from today, it is that fighters have to stop taking PEDs. And if you do take drugs, and get caught, don’t run from them; your career will only die tired.
