Looks like Anderson Silva won’t try out for next year’s Olympic Games after all.
The former UFC middleweight champion, and 5th dan black belt in taekwondo, announced in April his desire to represent Brazil in taekwondo at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but his manager Jorge Guimaraes told PVT that Silva has changed his plans.
“This Olympic thing has been discarded. Anderson won’t participate in the Olympics,” Guimaraes said. “He’s now waiting for the Athletic Commission’s verdict, which should come soon. We are waiting, we’ll see if there’s going to be a punishment and how long it will be. He’s training, Anderson never stops training. He’s staying active.”
Silva returned from a brutal leg break and defeated Nick Diaz in January, but failed a pair of drug tests before and right after his UFC 183 win, testing positive for drostanolone, androstane, oxazepam and temazepam.
On April 13, “The Spider” petitioned to be part of the Brazilian Olympic team. Nine days later, the UFC star held a press conference in Rio de Janeiro to announce that he was willing to go through the official tryouts to earn a spot at the Olympics.
“I stopped training taekwondo when I was 17 so it’s going to be tough, because taekwondo is very different today,” Silva said at the press conference. “I’m not worried about being embarrassed by the other athletes. For everything sport gave to me, I will try to give it back. I don’t have anything to prove. I’m here to help the sport and make it stronger.
“I never stopped training and watching the sport. I always used taekwondo kicks in my MMA fights, but now I have to train taekwondo only and adapt myself. It’s another challenge I have to face, and I’m willing to get embarrassed for it.”
Silva is expected to appear in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission on Aug. 7 for his official hearing. The former UFC middleweight champion is currently suspended by the commission.
