Merry Christmas from Wanderlei Silva.
In the MMA legend’s latest video, he announces his plan to help young fighters who stand to lose out on sponsorship money with the UFC’s new uniform contract with Reebok. Silva said he will open up his social media accounts to UFC athletes who send him videos pitching their sponsors.
“What can a young fighter offer to his sponsors, if not the space on their shorts?” Silva said. “To help, I am giving space on all my social media, which reaches millions of people.”
Silva said to make sure the videos sent are “good and creative” and he will select them to be posted to his Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts.
“Show your sponsors and I will post it to my friends,” Silva said. “That way you can offer a lot more exposure to your sponsors and even get new ones. And I want to ask the other fighters, our icons in the sport, to do the same as me and offer their space to up-and-comers.”
“The Axe Murderer,” who has been on an outspoken campaign against the UFC in recent months, didn’t outright rip the organization’s endorsement deal with Reebok. He just wants to make sure the fighters get 100 percent of the contract’s worth, as promised by UFC president Dana White. Silva said maybe his smear videos have helped change the UFC’s ways.
“They can see that it’s not working and maybe they’ve decided to do things different,” Silva said. “And hopefully they’ll start paying the athletes better. It’s a good attitude they are taking and I hope this is a good thing for the athletes. But it can’t only be good for the top fighters, it has to be good for the up-and-comers, too.”
Silva announced his retirement from MMA in September, but his hand was forced when the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) issued him an indefinite ban for evading a May drug test. In several videos Silva has put out since then, he has bashed the UFC for being a monopoly, underpaying fighters and ruining his love for the sport, among other things.
This latest video is the most positive Silva has put out and actually offered somewhat of a solution for the things he has been criticizing the UFC for.
“It’s the minimum we can do and for me it’s a pleasure to help the next generation,” Silva said. “I know what a fighter goes through until he can make a name for himself.”