Wand (photo) released a video on its official YouTube channel. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
A video released by Wanderlei Silva on Friday night (19) promises to shake up the behind-the-scenes of MMA, especially the UFC. No major public demonstrations since the episode in which he ended up being cut from the fight against Chael Sonnen for evading an anti-doping test, Wand decided to break his silence and did not hold back. In more than 13 minutes, “Crazy Dog” harshly criticized Ultimate and the way the organization treats its fighters and announced that he is leaving the ring.
READ TOO: Former rival, Rampage sends message to Wand after retirement: 'He was your number 1 fan'
At the beginning of the recording, Wanderlei presented his own version of his UFC 175 cut. The Curitiba native stated that he was not physically capable of performing at the event or even on the first date scheduled for his fight against Sonnen, May 31st. Wand said he was pressured by the organization to accept the fight and was offered a large sum of money as compensation. At this point, the fighter took the opportunity to provoke the UFC, saying that he was surprised by the amount, since the athletes at the event are so poorly paid.
Then, “Crazy Dog” cited the case of Renan Barao and he was furious. According to Wand, the UFC itself was responsible for what happened to the Brazilian, but his main complaint was the way the organization treated the former champion. “This angers the athletes and made me very upset. It really made me think differently about this sport. This is taking away my will to fight. I no longer have the desire to step into the Octagon because of statements like that. For seeing how the athlete is being treated. Because I don't have a worthy stage. A stage where the athlete is respected, can go there and whether he wins or loses and is treated in the same way”, he said. “Since you are not giving money, you should give respect”, he added then.
Furthermore, Wand questioned the conditions to which athletes are subjected to fight and the responsibility of the event on them. “Who will take care of these athletes in the future? Will you take care of us later? For them to be using us like this, to make loads of money… Because this event makes a lot of money. You don't respect the athlete, you don't pay the athlete, you don't take care of the athlete, you don't give anything to the athlete. You only give crumbs and lack respect. But now it’s enough!”, he stated.
Finally, Wanderlei was very emotional and declared that he was leaving the sport. “It is with great sadness in my heart. I am very sad today. Today is a sad day. Because unfortunately this organization took away my desire to fight. I can't do this anymore. I can no longer be treated this way by you. And today, with great regret, I come here to announce my retirement from the ring. From today the Wanderlei Silva Don't fight anymore. My career is over”, declared the “Crazy Dog”.
Despite the content of the accusations made by the fighter, until the closing of this article, the Ultimate organization had not officially commented on the matter. On his social networks, since publishing the video, Wanderlei has replicated several messages from fans in support of his decision.
Check out the video released by Wanderlei Silva:
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