(Out of the streets, inside elevators — it’s all relative.)
The irony of Wanderlei Silva’s recent moral crusade against the UFC, which has come following a drug-test scandal and his subsequent retirement from the sport, has not been lost on us. Sure, Silva’s been able to raise some fair points about the current state of fighter pay, as well as the UFC’s tendency to overwork/underpay guys like Renan Barao, but it’s also hard to hear those points coming from the mouth of a guy who absolutely refuses to accept any wrongdoing in his own most recent transgressions.
Of course, that these state of the unions are often delivered in the form of black-and-white, basement-shot vlogs makes for a humorous outlier in the equation, and often lead to many quotable moments from the former PRIDE star. But none of Silva’s highly entertaining, often misguided rants hold a candle to the gem he dropped during an interview with Bloody Elbow’s Submission Radio yesterday.
Complete audio of the interview is after the jump, but let’s just look at a few of the highlights.
On when Wanderlei started thinking about retiring
“I started a couple of months ago, because I looked at the way the sport goes right now and how the owner of the events treats the guys, how the guys are talking about the guys, how the guys fighting the guys, next some guy retired, this other guy is a kid. Man, I look at that and I can’t fight these guys anymore.”
Must…resist…urge to…Rockeyeroll.gif….
On Improving Nevada State Athletic Commission
“We need to make the clear rules. The clear rules about the commission, the clear rules about the contract, you know?
“This commission, nobody knows who put these guys there. Nobody knows who took these guys. Nobody knows. Nobody knows nothing. We need to know who gives the power to these guys, who gets behind these guys. You know, because we don’t know. We never know.
“We need to open the book and I want to know everything.”
…can’t…stop…self…must…use…
On how to improve the sport of MMA
“You put the guy on a contract. You need to take care of this guy.
When the guys open their eyes, that’s going to be better for the sport. Because When the fighters have more money, the guys can have better trainers, eat better, can train better. When the fight is better, you’re gonna make the new idols, you’re gonna make the classics too. We’re going back to the top again, because right now the MMA goes down. All the numbers. You can check the pay-per-views, you can check the views.
I want to make MMA ready to go into the next steps to be like the NFL, like American football.“
Ho. Lee. Shit.
Look, I know what point Wanderlei is *trying* to make here, but really, guy, the NFL? Good God man, have you even been reading the news lately? Between the NFL’s could-not-give-less-of-a-fuck regarding domestic violence issues, the mental safety of their players, blatantly racist team names, and their complete lack of sincerity or transparency when addressing fans and media members alike, I’d say that the NFL is about the furthest thing from what *any* successful business should be using as a model right about now. Not to mention, the UFC is already well on its way to becoming the NFL as it is, and if you don’t believe me, look no further than their treatment of the Thiago Silva situation. The similarities are astounding!
Look, we want to get behind what you’re saying, Wandy, but for the love of all that is holy, hire a PR guy to do the talking for you.