Wanderlei Silva Plans On Making UFC Like NFL
Wanderlei Silva continues to fight, but never again will he grace the octagon….
Former UFC middleweight Wanderlei Silva really came upon hard times this year; after allegedly fleeing a NSAC drug test, Silva attended multiple hearings before deciding to call it quits. His emotional goodbye video was followed by a lifetime ban by the Nevada Athletic Commission, and a $70,000 fine for his infractions.
So Silva has essentially declared war on the world he once held in his palm, and regardless of his motives, you can’t help but admire him wanting to help younger fighters. Talking with Submission Radio, “The Axe Murderer” laid it all on the table:
“When the guys open their eyes, that’s going to be better for the sport. Because When the fighters have more money, the guys can have better trainers, eat better, can train better. When the fight is better, you’re gonna make the new idols, you’re gonna make the classics too. We’re going back to the top again, because right now the MMA goes down. All the numbers. You can check the pay-per-views, you can check the views.”
“I want to make MMA ready to go into the next steps to be like the NFL, like American football. I want the fighters to have a better life. Like a better life in general. Because sometimes the guy (MMA promotions) treat the guys good, just only when the guy is fighting good. When the guy is fighting bad, the guys are fighting the sometimes on the internet, on twitter; ‘this guy is no longer part of the company anymore’. The guys don’t call to say ‘hey, you can’t work for us anymore. No this is not fair. And sometimes in the press conferences they say ‘this guy is this, this guy is that, this guy needs to retire, this guy..’ no. We make the show. We need respect. The guys need to respect us, and this is why I don’t want to fight again.”
Wanderlei Silva joins a growing line of ex-UFC fighters who oppose the way the promotion treats it’s fighters. But what of the way Silva was treated by the Athletic Commission? “The Axe Murderer” believes that as an unlicensed fighter, he should never have to submit to a drug test anyway. Just to clarify, Wandy was not under license at the time of the random NSAC drug test in May:
“Exactly. I don’t have a licence. Man, I don’t work for these guys. I don’t have a contract or have nothing signed. What these guys can do? Nothing, and that is their rules. I don’t make these rules. These guys make the rules, and these (guys) don’t respect their rules. What? These guys want to be over the law.
“I’ll go to the court. This is not fair, and I’m going to fight to the finish. I’m gonna prove that these guys have no law against me. These guys can’t do nothing with me. I’m gonna prove that.”
This truly is one of the most bitter ends to any MMA legend’s careers I can remember. Silva will go down as one of, if not the most exciting fighter from Pride FC to the UFC days. Only time will tell how his fight against the NSAC and for better treatment of fighters will go.
