Wanderlei Silva appeals to court to review eternal ban from MMA

Wand (photo) announced his retirement days before the NSAC punishment. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

Last September, after a long soap opera that began with his escape from a surprise doping test in the first semester, the Brazilian Wanderlei Silva was banned for life from MMA in the state of Nevada by the local Athletic Commission. As the body is the main reference in the field and its determinations are followed by other entities, Brazilians can even be considered away from the sport. Therefore, even though retired from MMA and in litigation with the UFC, the fighter wants to review the sentence and, through his lawyer Ross Goodman, filed a petition in the Clark County court.

See too

Johnson's alleged ex-wife resigns from UFC fighter: 'He's evil'

Bellator fighter is arrested drunk after attacking police officers in the United States

Sonnen disagrees with Wand's crusade against the UFC: 'He's making bad decisions'

McGregor recalls controversy with Brazilian fans: 'They wanted to kill me and I wanted to kill them'

“This is a plea to a judge to hear this legal issue that has received little attention from the Nevada Athletic Commission. They didn't even address the issue, they just said, 'Motion denied.' This whole thing was just a big puppet court, and now we're going to get a real hearing. This decision (by the Athletic Commission) was premeditated”, said Goodman, in an interview with the North American website “MMA Junkie”.

Still according to the lawyer, as happened in the sessions with the Nevada Athletic Commission, the main argument used in the petition is that the body would not have the authority to apply such punishment, or even ask for the surprise test that motivated all the fuss, as Wanderlei would be an unlicensed athlete, as he had not yet requested authorization to fight with the entity. Goodman also said he expects Wand's case to be heard in Clark County court between January and February of next year.

At 38, Wanderlei Silva ended his career days before the Athletic Commission's decision on his eternal ban from MMA in Nevada. The “Crazy Dog” has a professional record of 35 wins, 12 losses, one draw and one unsuccessful fight. Since hanging up his gloves, Wand has waged a true crusade against the UFC, through videos on his official channel on YouTube and statements in the press. In the most recent chapter of the feud, the Brazilian accused the organization of preventing him from working, after he was banned from participating in rival Bellator's recent windfall because he still has contractual obligations with Ultimate.

[vox id=”25890″]