Wand (photo) continues to be at war with the UFC and Dana White. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
The war between Wanderlei Silva and the UFC appears to be far from over. Banned from MMA in Nevada for life and officially retired from the sport, Wand remains under contract with the biggest organization on the planet and continues his crusade to get the agreement terminated. Once again, the “Crazy Dog” accused Ultimate of slavery and even launched threats against president Dana White if he doesn't get his dismissal from the event.
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“I’m not going to pay a dollar to get out of this contract. I'll make him release me for free. I don't know how much it would be and I don't want to know. If he (Dana White) doesn't release me it will be very bad for him because I have an entire nation with me, the Brazilians are all with me. I thank all the Brazilian people who are going on social media in my favor, in favor of the athletes. (…) Slavery is being forced to be linked to someone you don't want. I am being discriminated against, persecuted in a foreign country. Nobody knows what is in this contract”, said the former fighter, in an interview given to the website of the “Combate” channel.
“The biggest problem with this contract is that it takes away your freedom. He doesn't pay me and doesn't let me work. An event was going to pay me $10 for an hour and a half of work and I got an email saying that if I did, I would be sued. He doesn't pay me, he doesn't release me and I just want my freedom. This is slavery. If you don't want to work at your job, you have to be able to leave. Otherwise it is slavery (…). For example: I won, if I'm not mistaken, 5 or 7 thousand dollars for the video game, which earned the UFC 300 million on its first outing. They might say: 'Ah, but you accepted it when you signed'. Either you sign or you're out, friend. The fighter has no bargaining power”, he added.
Furthermore, Wanderlei also cited some examples of what he considers to be abuses committed by Ultimate and assured that he is organizing a movement for athletes to fight for their rights. “Why are you going to keep a retired athlete? I'm not going to fight anymore, so why not release me from the contract. According to him, I am banned by the commission, which has no authority over me. I do not accept this punishment. But he's creating a monster. I'm getting upset about the situation and creating a movement in favor of the fighters. For example: this thing where they asked how much Aldo was going to earn in the fight. Why was he angry? Why so much mystery? Why be so upset about how much you pay? This should be a source of pride for him. 'I'm going to pay seven million to the champion'. But he wants to pay 100, 200 thousand dollars. They say it's a lot of money, but it's not because you have to pay the entire cost. The problem is that athletes generate much more than is being passed on to them”, he assured.
Finally, the former PRIDE champion said that his plan is to guarantee fighters the right to leave Ultimate when they have differences and took the opportunity to criticize the organization's relationship with their idols when they are leaving the event. “(I'm going to convince Dana) Because of his common sense. I'm going to show that having me under contract against my will will be very bad. I want to achieve this for all athletes who have problems with the organization. I won't be the first, nor will I be the last. I want to show that whoever signs with this company will be hurt because I don't see anyone coming out strong. They always knock the guy down before he leaves,” he concluded.
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