Wanderlei Silva: 'I can prove' there were fixed fights in UFC

Wanderlei Silva

It’s no secret that Wanderlei Silva is not fond of the UFC or its management. The former PRIDE and UFC star has been lashing out at UFC officials since running out of a gym to avoid a Nevada State Athletic Commission drug test ahead of his scheduled bout with Chael Sonnen at UFC 175.

UFC President Dana White made it clear that Silva was “in a very bad position” with the UFC initially, before calling Silva (35-12-1 MMA, 6-6 UFC) “very wrong” for thinking that the situation would blow over. A minor war of words escalated with Silva lashing out at the UFC and retiring from MMA before the NSAC handed down a $70,000 fine and lifetime ban for skipping the drug test.

Silva has popped up repeatedly whenever the UFC is affected by controversy. The 39-year-old has now released statements on Facebook in support of Jabon “Stitch” Duran, the veteran cutman whom the UFC relieved of his duties after speaking out about the way he was impacted by Reebok’s sponsorship deal with the UFC.

While fans and fighters have been sympathetic to Duran, resulting in a wild Twitter Q&A for White and a wide range of emotional tweets from fighters, Silva’s reaction took things to a different place.

“They fired him,” Silva wrote in his native Portuguese (and translated by MMAjunkie). “That’s right. They fired ‘Stitch’ for standing against this theft being perpetrated on the athletes. So I wonder, ‘why don’t they fire me?’ I already said I do not want to, nor will I work any more for to this promotion. And they won’t dismiss me. That’s what happens to those who speak the truth in this company; they’re driven out. They have no respect for anyone. I’ve made it very clear to you all that I will never again fight for this promotion, the U.F. Circus. Fixed fights – and I can prove it! I haven’t yet dropped the bomb. I haven’t said everything I know!”

Silva continued later in the day, with a second post that, again, referenced fixed fights.

“Either you do what they tell you, or you’re fired,” Silva wrote. “I won’t give up until they free the athletes. This promoter is killing our sport. There are fighters going back to work to support their families because they can’t live from the sport alone. They’re very poorly paid. We are getting organized and soon I’ll have news for my brothers in the ring. This will not stand! Some have tried to buy me, but I am not, nor have I ever been for sale. And I will fight to the end, to unmask these promoters, who are deceiving the public, cheating, and taking the dignity and the honor from our sport! This is turning a pro-wrestling show with fixed fights. We have to stop these guys because that’s the end of the line for us!”

While fixed fights are an undeniable part of the history of combat sports, there has never been any proof of a fixed fight taking place inside the UFC octagon.

The risk of fixing a fight is massive on the part of a promoter or fighter. It is not only an unethical activity that would result in a lifetime ban from the sport, but the illegality means jail time, fines and a lifetime of trouble – not to mention the lasting effects on the sport, which would be thrust in a perpetual battle to prove the legitimacy of every single fight thereafter.

For a company as big and valuable as the UFC, the potential financial – and legal and regulatory – penalties would be crippling.

So, if Silva has proof of fight-fixing, it would truly be a “bomb.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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