Wanderlei Silva Asks Fans If They Think McGregor vs. Mendes Was Fixed
With his highly publicized spats with the UFC and Dana White the stuff of legends, it’s been a while since we’ve seen disgraced former Pride FC champion Wanderlei Silva in action, or even in the media for that matter.
But ‘The Axe Murderer’ came back with a vengeance today to criticize the UFC and their recent blockbuster event, this past weekend’s (Sat., July 11, 2015) UFC 189 pay-per-view (PPV) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Silva appeared in one of his infamous videos to state his beliefs on the anticipated main event between Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes, which ‘Notorious’ won by second round TKO. The outspoken Brazilian legend, who recently saw his lifetime ban for running from an NSAC-mandated drug test last summer reversed, made a video saying that the UFC handled Jose Aldo’s injury unprofessionally, as they didn’t even need the medical documentation that they ultimately denied anyway.
UFC President Dana White said that the x-ray Aldo provided showing his rib was broken was actually from an old injury and several doctors had confirmed he had only a bruised rather than broken rib, something which Wand does not agree with. Ultimately he called out for White to show fighters more respect and not pick sides.
But aside from the situation of Aldo, who was obviously replaced by Mendes, Silva brought up some far more insidious and controversial claims. After McGregor was getting largely dominated on the ground by Mendes, a gassing ‘Money’ went for an ill-advised choke that ultimately spelled his undoing, as McGregor got up to unleash a fight-ending combination. Silva apparently didn’t agree with this, calling the UFC and White corrupt and money-hungry and asking his fans if the fight was fixed on Twitter, translated from his native Portuguese:
“Was the fight fixed? What do you guys think? If it was, then we have really reached the end of the line”
What do you make of this mess? Is Wand right that the UFC disrespected Aldo and should have given him more leeway? Or are his insinuations that the fight was fixed just a case of sour grapes from a disgraced former employee?
