Wanderlei's lawyer says the Nevada Commission does not have the authority to punish fighters

Wand (photo) still doesn't know when he will be able to fight again. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

the lawyer of Wanderlei Silva, Ross Goodman, confirmed that he will file a motion requesting the withdrawal of any legal measure that could be applied by the Nevada Athletic Commission to the Brazilian after he escaped the drug test carried out in May. According to the lawyer, the commission did not have the authority to require an exam for Wanderlei, as the fighter was not yet licensed to compete.

In May, shortly before the fight he would have against Chael Sonnen at UFC 175, the Brazilian refused to take a surprise drug test at his gym in Las Vegas (USA). The former PRIDE champion clarified that he had taken diuretics (a prohibited substance) in order to reduce the swelling in his injured hand, and that, fearing that he would test positive, he refused to do so. As a result, Wanderlei was removed from the UFC 175 card, and his situation for the future is still uncertain.

However, Goodman asked that no punishment be applied to the Brazilian, as, at that time, Wanderlei had not started the process of obtaining a license to fight at the event. “It is abundantly clear that the NSAC does not have jurisdiction to take disciplinary action on Mr. Silva, who was not licensed, for failing to submit to a test that the commission had no authority to require. Only someone previously licensed could have violated the commission's regulations”, wrote Goodman, in a letter to the Nevada State Attorney General obtained by the North American website “MMA Fighting”.

The Brazilian's case would be discussed in a commission session this Thursday (21), but the fighter did not attend the hearing. The matter will be discussed on a future occasion, the date of which has not yet been defined.

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