MMA legend Wanderlei Silva declined to submit to a Nevada Athletic Commission random drug test at his Las Vegas gym last spring despite being tabbed to fight months later at UFC 175 against Chael Sonnen. Sonnen himself would fail two random drug tests administered by the NAC.
The NAC has filed a complaint against Silva and looked to deal with his case at a recent hearing but pushed him off of the agenda when the Brazilian's attorney Ross Goodman contended that the commission did not have jurisdiction to test Silva at the time they tried because his license to fight in the state was not current.
In an interview with MMA Fighting this week, Goodman maintained that position, adding that Silva had not yet even signed a bout agreement to face Sonnen, despite the fact that the UFC, and indeed Silva and Sonnen themselves, had been promoting the summer match up for months, including while taping an entire season of The Ultimate Fighters as opposing coaches.
Goodman said that he's looking forward to making his case at a future NAC hearing. "We?re looking forward to having that hearing, and looking forward to making those arguments in a public forum," he said.
"Hopefully, we can prevail to common sense with respect to the commissioners," Goodman said. "It can?t be more black and white. Everybody understands that you have to consent, you have to be a licensee before anybody can take any sort of action against you. I think everybody understands the fact that you can?t discipline somebody who is not licensed before you. It?s just as plain as that.
"The actual complaint is that Wanderlei violated their drug policy, and if you look at the statute, you look at the section that they?re trying to discipline Wanderlei under a clear state that you have to be a licensee...It makes all the difference in the world. It expressly says you have to be a licensee. This is plain as simple as that.
"[The NAC] takes one section out of context when says ?a person.? Before I even explain that, if they valid what he?s saying, the commission would have the authority to discipline anybody that?s a person. That is absurd. That?s unreasonable. If you look at the statute that they took it from, the statute is a licensee statute. You have to read everything in context. There?s no statute which talks about that they can discipline somebody because they are person.
"Unlike Chael or other people, [Silva] had not signed a bout agreement, he wasn?t under contract, and he wasn?t a licensee. You can?t go have somebody to submit to a test because they?re potentially going to a fight on a feature card."
Goodman went on to say that, should the NAC not see things he and Silva's way, he will seek remedy in front of a court and judge. We'll keep you posted on developments with this story, including responses from the NAC, as they occur.
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