(“Okay, everyone get on the mat and give me 20 post-mortem leg lifts NOW.”)
Because we all knew that the UFC would never do it, the Nevada State Athletic Commission recently stepped up and made the decision to remove Anderson Silva as a TUF Brazil 4 coach in the wake of his UFC 183 drug test failure. “No way! This changes everything!” said the six people currently anticipating the fourth season of TUF Brazil.
Details after the jump.
Silva’s removal from TUF comes as a result of the temporary suspension he received for his positive drug test on January 9th. Stepping in for Anderson will be none other than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (via a UFC press release):
The UFC® announced today that Brazilian legend Rodrigo “Big Nog” Nogueira will join the cast of The Ultimate Fighter® Brazil 4, the organization’s signature television reality series, as coach following the departure of UFC middleweight Anderson Silva.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission, which regulates The Ultimate Fighter series’ exhibition fights filmed in Las Vegas, requested that Silva cease participation in the series as a result of his temporary suspension following the recently announced preliminary results of his January 9 pre-fight drug test for UFC® 183.
The UFC and Globo, the show’s Brazilian broadcaster, respect the Commission’s decision, which will allow Silva to focus his attention on the matter before the Commission.
Silva is still scheduled to face the Nevada State Athletic Commission on February 17th for his full disciplinary hearing. For what it’s worth, Silva’s second round of out-of-competition testing administered on January 19th came back clean for any PED’s. Whether or not this will affect any possible fines or suspensions Silva may face is still up in the air according to NSAC Executive Director Bob Bennett. As he told MMAFighting:
Bob Bennett, the NAC executive director, said he did not know if the latest test findings would affect any penalties given to Silva by the commission.
“I can’t speak for the chairman or be presumptuous in any way or comment on that,” Bennett told MMAFighting.com. “It’s not my position.”
Bennett did say it was good news for Silva, the UFC and the sport.
“We’re happy to get these results,” he said.
It’s an interesting development in the Silva saga to say the least, and one that will surely be discussed during Silva’s hearing on the 17th.