Wanderlei Silva And Ex-UFC Fighters Pushing For Muhammad Ali Act In MMA
Wanderlei Silva’s crusade against the UFC continues, as the Pride FC legend remains at loggerheads with the promotion he once called home. It all stems from the Ultimate Fighter Brazil, where ‘The Axe Murderer’ coached opposite Chael Sonnen in the lead up to their scheduled meeting at UFC 173, then the TUF Brazil 3 finals and then UFC 175. Silva allegedly fled from a NSAC (Nevad State Athletic Commission) drug test, was pretty much disowned by the UFC and Dana White and hit with a lifetime ban and K fine by the commission.
Silva recently had the ban overturned, but only after retiring from the sport and later publicly accusing the UFC of fixing fights. The Zuffa banner quickly countered with a lawsuit, but the damage was likely already done to the promotion. Back to the point in hand, ‘The Axe Murderer’ showed up at the recent annual convention of the association of boxing commissions in San Diego, California, and is pushing for a huge change in MMA (mixed martial arts).
The Muhammad Boxing Reform Act (2000) was brought in to reduce corruption in boxing, to increase the integrity of the sport and also fair treatment of fighters. Silva, Nate Quarry, Jon Fitch, Ryan Jimmo and head of the MMAFA (mixed martial arts fighters organization) Rob Maysey were all on site at the yearly boxing commissions meeting and, as detailed in the video above, were not there to mess about.
”Today we are here to make a huge step in the sport of MMA,’ said Silva during his now-infamous youtube video series, ‘We are working on bringing the Muhammad Ali act in to the sport, it’s a federal act introduced here in the US, this law says that an event can not be a sanctioning body, the managers, and the promotion all in one.”
‘This must be separate, if it’s all together as one there can be corruption. The promotion can not be the one to decide who is the champion and who fights for the belt, then there’s no official rankings, the rankings can not be decided on the promotion’s interest. This is a huge step for the sport.’
This indeed could be a massive leap forward for the fighters, but that’s only if this plea from Silva and his friends is heard and put through. On the outside looking in it would seem a no-brainer, but often there’s much more to these matters than meets the eye.
Silva’s conquest to change the sport of MMA, and more specifically the UFC seems to be growing in power by the day. The question is will he be able to pull it off?
