Wanderlei Silva gets lifetime ban

[Tsar]

State commissions will generally enforce the rulings of other commissions.

He also has a UFC contract, and the UFC respects commission rulings.

this. and the ufc has never allowed a fighter to avoid a juridisctional ban by fighting somewhere where there is no AC. this will be a lifetime ban. funny that wand is blaming the ufc for taking away his love for the sport when he basically shot himself in the foot.

he should take some responsibility for defying the commission's authority first in evading the drug test; second in arguing before the commission that they had no authority over him since he was unlicensed. he was preparing for a fight and had avoided seeking license probably to avoid being tested. so he was really gaming the system in a lot of different ways.

 

[wlu29]

The day that he got plastic surgery it all seem down hill from there.

 

[wlu29]

I personally don't care about this decision

 

[L0ki]

Lifetime ban, then?

That's crazy.

Missing a test is almost as close to being popped as pissing hot, but still, he didn't piss hot.

At most, it should be like 6 months.

 

[Substance Abuse]

This is hilarious. He should have kissed ass like Chael or played dumb in person.

 

[L0ki]

yeah, i tend to think wand is a little overrated but to be fair part of his downward slide was his chin giving out. he lost by KO to hendo and then devastatingly to cro cop. he was never the same after those losses. and of course at MW he was just a win-one, lose-one fighter late in his career--but oh the mileage he had on him by then!

That "downward slide" was only at 1 point in his career, and that came to a trio of fighters who were all ranked top 5.

He also beat Cro Cop and Hendo, who was undefeated at the time.

His chin has always been suspected of as he has been getting dropped throughout his career.

I think the whole "chin is gone" argument isn't really valid. The people he lost to were all power hitters. He took some solid shots by Cung, Stann and Ace and didn't go out.

 

[Dorkman]

It's a state government body. And he's Brazilian. What can they really, honestly do?

Take him to court over it. Court can easily find it in favor of the athletic commission. His ship would be pretty much sunk then. He'd either have to pay, or face more serious penalties. I'm guessing citizenship/greencard would be in jeopardy if he chose to defy to pay if it got that far.

 

[Stuhby]

A few things I've noticed in this thread:

-If Wand was a bigger star/had a big fight lined up, he'd get a slap on his inflamed wrist.
The Chael fight was lined up, agreed to, wasn't a contract already drawn up? An entire season of tuf was built around the fight. It was a pretty big fight that a lot were excited about. Wand has also always been a "needle mover".

- How can they find it punish a guy for a test of he isn't even licensed?

Many, many fighters don't actually get licensed until the few weeks before the fight - often waiting until a few days before the event. That does not excuse them from being tested. If you have a fight lined up, you are - or should be - subject to testing. That's a no-brainer. If you can only be tested when you're licensed, that's a pretty darn big loophole, giving an advantage to the lazy.

Overeem ran and didn't get banned- DAFUQ?!

- This is true. However, lots of things have changed since then. Rumble was suspended for something he did prior to being re-signed to the UFC. Thiago was signed again and promptly removed when the World of Sports shed a spotlight on the extracurricular activities of the fighters.

Prepare for more fines, more bans, more suspensions.

This, though, seems like a pretty clear-cut punishing of a guy who did something wrong. Then lied about it. Then gave a suspect excuse. Then bragged about his innocence and ability to get cleared of charges.

Also, on page like, two? a guy said he was always told it's -better- to refuse a drug test than to piss hot? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and I can't think of a single scenario where refusing a drug test is not an immediate failure of the test.

Edit: Also lol@"why ban a guy who retired". Seriously? I'd be willing to wager that there are more fighters who retire "early" come back for at least one more fight, than there are fighters who stay retired. There are at least enough to make that statement ridiculous.

 

[TheWolfsHowl]

Take him to court over it. Court can easily find it in favor of the athletic commission. His ship would be pretty much sunk then. He'd either have to pay, or face more serious penalties. I'm guessing citizenship/greencard would be in jeopardy if he chose to defy to pay if it got that far.

What penalties can they give a guy that doesn't fight anymore, will never fight again, and is not an American citizen? What authority do they hold over him now that he's retired? Take him to court? He's in fucking Brazil. Good luck serving him those summons papers. Good luck asserting your authority over him.

 

[MANIAC123]

Never really been a fan of Wanderlei and I have often criticized him over this situation. But the ban seems a bit ludicrous and excessive.

 

[fightfan84]

this. and the ufc has never allowed a fighter to avoid a juridisctional ban by fighting somewhere where there is no AC. this will be a lifetime ban. funny that wand is blaming the ufc for taking away his love for the sport when he basically shot himself in the foot.

he should take some responsibility for defying the commission's authority first in evading the drug test; second in arguing before the commission that they had no authority over him since he was unlicensed. he was preparing for a fight and had avoided seeking license probably to avoid being tested. so he was really gaming the system in a lot of different ways.

well lots of people think it was his stance against the ufc, and the ufc's influence with the commission that gave him the life time ban.
If a guy like chael after everything said and done, only get 2 years is definitely a little bit fishy

 

[Tsar]

well lots of people think it was his stance against the ufc, and the ufc's influence with the commission that gave him the life time ban.
If a guy like chael after everything said and done, only get 2 years is definitely a little bit fishy

i think pissing hot is nowhere near as bad as 1) avoiding licensing to avoid pissing; 2) evading the on-site tester while claiming ignorance; 3) claiming at the hearing that the commission has no authority because he was not licensed.

the idea that the NAC is retaliating because of wand's video confuses the order of things. wand was probably aware of the ban ahead of his announcement that he was retiring. i don't think the NAC is in the business of defending the UFC against criticism. and i'm not surprised that they put the hammer down on someone who defied their authority in three quite apparent ways (points 1,2, 3 above).

breaking rules is one thing; refusing to accept the authority of the commission is another. if wand pissed hot for 14 different compounds i bet he would have gotten a 1-2 year ban (probably less than chael since it would have been his first offense). but the refusal is worse in their eyes. and they were clear (NAC) in stating that they felt he as avoiding the license application ahead of the surprise test. he was gaming the system and it didn't work.

 

[Francis Rossi]

well lots of people think it was his stance against the ufc, and the ufc's influence with the commission that gave him the life time ban.
If a guy like chael after everything said and done, only get 2 years is definitely a little bit fishy

C'mon. "Lots of people" means some whiners on Sherdog.

 

[Jas Hanz]

People are talking about this retirement video and I wonder how many of them have devoted themselves to something they're passionate about. I'm talking the kind of devotion that makes you want to be the best in the world. A passion that consumes you and your only focus.

Now what if you achevieved that championship moment, that moment of greatness, not once, but many times, all the while using tools that were at the time legal and available to all. In fact they were encouraged You lived your dream while millions chanted your name around the world and life is good.

Then you get older. You've lost a step, your hurting all the time and The tools you once relied on are now forbidden. You're still expected to be the best in the world, oh, and if you could put on a swing for the fencess, career shortening, just bleed performance, that'd be great.

Trouble getting off the old tools now forbidden? Well shame on you for ever using them in the first place! It's not our problem, it's what you get for cheating. What do you mean you can't fight? Injuries? But we need you to sell this card for us...Jesus didn't you learn anything from the way we treated already underpaid Barao?

Oh you ran from a test!? Let's call in Dog the bounty hunter, have the promoter rip you to shreds at every turn and THEN sell the circus like consequences to unsuspecting Fight Pass subscribers, essentially making them Fight Passive aggressive subscribers.

We're a big company, we could step in and help a legend save face, or we can bury him publicly to appear in step with a bunch of middle management, non athletes who haven't had a solid bowl movement in 7 years, charged with the oversight of the lives and livelihoods of honest to goodness Alpha Warriors.

Regardless of how Wand has handled himself as of late, what I saw in that video was a broken man. After many years of countless wars, the UFC and that laughable commission did what no single man could ever do in a ring or cage. They broke the MF Axe Murderer.

Reaaaaaally think about that.

 

[Philly253]

Boohoo the sports commission punished a drug cheat for being a drug cheat. NOW HE WON'T BE ABLE TO DRUG CHEAT, THOSE ASSHOLES!

Don't they know that philly253 wanted to see wandy get a new face knocked off of him? Why the hell did they think they had to do their jobs punishing drug cheating steroid monkeys just because they were deliberating on what to do with a drug cheating steroid monkey?!

You did well...I dont think they knew, sweet man thanks.

 

[Kungpowking]

I was VERY shocked by this ruling. A lifetime?!! For simply not respecting their 'authority'? WTF world are we in? So you have Zero proof he was actually breaking rules, but you think he might... yet you ban him for life. Oh ok.

 

[riddleofsteel]

One grain of common sense should make it clear that an evader should be more heavily punished than a complier.

You run, you're done.

Again, the IOC, IAAF, FINA, FILA, IWF, etc don't agree. You evade a test you are subject to the same punishment as failing one but the punishment doesn't exceed the punishment of actually failing the test.

An athlete testing positive for PEDs is actually proved to be using and the evader still might not be, there is a distinct difference there. And courts acknowledge that difference. One grain of common sense should know that the governing body's decision could be challenged in a court and a court needs proof.


The governing body has to prove the athlete skipped the tests, evaded testers and refused to give a sample.
Didn't work out too well in one of the biggest case for the IAAF in the past 10 years -
Greek track athletes, Ekaterini Thanou & Konstantinos Kenteris, that avoided tests in 2004.
That miss of a court case started with charges of missing test appointments, evading testers and refusal to provide a sample.
Both sides settled with just the missing test appointments. Three of them.
They settled on a 2 year ban, the same as a positive test. And those two staged a vehicle accident to get out of one test.

 

[Rex Kwon Do]

Lifetime ban, then?

That's crazy.

Missing a test is almost as close to being popped as pissing hot, but still, he didn't piss hot.

At most, it should be like 6 months.

It makes perfect sense to treat guys who run more harshly than guys who fail. Imagine if the guy who ducked the test gets 6 months, and the guy who fails gets 9 (in addition to having the stigma of failing attached to his name). There would never be a failure again--not because guys would stop using, but because they would start refusing. The tests would become meaningless and cheaters would never be outed.

As it is now, there is an incentive to be honest. This means cheaters will be exposed. If you really want to clean up the sport, harshly punishing the poster boy for running is completely logical and a pretty smart move.

 

[aRtFuL]

It makes perfect sense to treat guys who run more harshly than guys who fail. Imagine if the guy who ducked the test gets 6 months, and the guy who fails gets 9 (in addition to having the stigma of failing attached to his name). There would never be a failure again--not because guys would stop using, but because they would start refusing. The tests would become meaningless and cheaters would never be outed.

As it is now, there is an incentive to be honest. This means cheaters will be exposed. If you really want to clean up the sport, harshly punishing the poster boy for running is completely logical and a pretty smart move.

^ This

 

[SerrabyTKO]

What penalties can they give a guy that doesn't fight anymore, will never fight again, and is not an American citizen? What authority do they hold over him now that he's retired? Take him to court? He's in fucking Brazil. Good luck serving him those summons papers. Good luck asserting your authority over him.

He lives in Las Vegas. His house is there. He also owns a business there. They can put a lien on it and if need be freeze his bank accounts.


BUT. They won't do any of that, because they can't. Anyone who says otherwise is incorrect.The NSAC is just a regulatory body, and don't have any authority outside of that capacity. They can't go after him for the money, UNLESS he tries to fight again.

Which he can't, because they banned him.

The fine is purely to set a precedent (35% of the purse) for the future. They don't expect to collect from Wand.

But the liens and account freezes come into play if the UFC sues him for breach of contract if he tries to skip out and fight for another org.