White: Wand has been Pete Rose’d, no HoF induction
Wanderlei Silva said he would refuse induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, and UFC president Dana White said it would not be offered.
Wanderlei Silva is one of the greatest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts, and he just retired. At first glance, he would be an obvious candidate for the UFC Hall of Fame.
However, he retired just before receiving an indefinite suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission for running from a PED test. This has been widely interpreted as a lifetime ban.
Shortly afterwards he was interviewed by Brazil’s Combate, and in one of a series of bitter denunciations of the league, Silva said he was not interested in UFC HoF induction.
“I don’t feel the need of being in that Hall of Fame,’ said Wand, as translated by Fernando Arbex for BE. “The fans do the Hall of Fame. From this organization, I want nothing more. If they put me there, I don’t accept. My Hall of Fame are my fans. I’m stronger than I ever was, I have never had so much support.”
Shortly afterwards, in an interview with Damon Martin for FOX Sports, UFC president Dana White said there would be no induction offer to decline.
“There’s going to be no Hall of Fame,” said White. “The guy’s been Pete Rose’d. There’s going to be no Hall of Fame offers.”
On August 24, 1989, former Outfielder, Infielder, and manager Pete Rose was voluntarily and permanently place on baseball’s ineligible list, by then MLB commissioner Bart Giamatti. One week later Giamatti died of a heart attack. It has been 25 years, and Rose, now 73, is still not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
