It was originally slated so that Mixed Martial Arts legends Anderson Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua would be the coaches for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil. Several news outlets have reported that this is no longer the case. It appears that the UFC wanted to maintain Silva as a coach, despite the controversy swirling around his failed out-of-competition drug test (although yesterday it was reported that another test taken on January 19th came back clean). BloodyElbow.com reported today that Silva will be replaced with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (another revered Brazilian fighter who had previously coached the show against Fabricio Werdum).
Looking at this from a business perspective, it is a huge blow to the UFC. The Brazilian version of the Ultimate Fighter is broadcast on Globo, the country's most viewed network, which brought many new eyeballs to the sport. The success of the UFC in the country may be due to the rich history of Brazilian athletes who have been successful in the Octagon. Overall since the inception of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993, there have been 10 champions from Brazil. None of course shone brighter than the former Middleweight champion Anderson Silva who since his debut in 2006 remained undefeated until July of 2013 where he lost his title to the current champion Chris Weidman.
Brazilians took pride in the fact that their country was represented so well as its athletes began to dominate the UFC's divisions. Currently, MMA and the UFC plays only second fiddle to the national sport of soccer. Every event has sold out fairly quickly and the atmosphere and energy surrounding the sport is insane considering that the sport has been around for little over two decades.
It is understandable that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would make this request given that Silva has such a big name; his discipline, if it stands, will demonstrate to other fighters the consequences of their actions. Now that these tests are becoming more and more stringent it will be interesting to see who else is going to get popped for PEDs and how promoters will now have to adapt when entire fight cards are endangered by the actions of one or more fighters.
It is understandable that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would make this request given that Silva has such a big name; his discipline, if it stands, will demonstrate to other fighters the consequences of their actions. Now that these tests are becoming more and more stringent it will be interesting to see who else is going to get popped for PEDs and how promoters will now have to adapt when entire fight cards are endangered by the actions of one or more fighters.
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