UFC
Wanderlei Silva says UFC treating him like a slave, Dana White responds: "If he's a slave, he's a slave of his own doing"
Mar 22, 2015 - 8:30:20 PM Wanderlei Silva says UFC treating him like a slave, Dana White responds: "If he's a slave, he's a slave of his own doing"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Wanderlei Silva is making another push to get the UFC to release him from his contract, as he's feeling held down by them holding onto his rights while he's been indefinitely suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Here's what Silva said this weekend in a post on his Facebook page (translated by Guilherme Cruz at MMAFighting.com):

"You know that I've been chased, discriminated, treated like a slave by this promotion," Silva wrote. "They don't want to release me from the contract, so I can't work anymore, which is my right of not wanting to work for them anymore, and I can't work anywhere else. I come here asking the UFC to release me from this slavery system. You work for them or don't work anywhere else. Some good soul, please translate this and send to Dana. I know I will find the best lawyers to help me with that."

White scoffed at Silva's characterization when reacting after Saturday's UFC Fight Night 62 event, saying if he's feeling that way, it's of his own doing.

"Wanderlei Silva ran from a drug test," White commented at the post-fight press conference Saturday night. "He ran from a drug test. If he's a slave, he's a slave of his own doing. He did this to himself. The UFC didn't do anything to Wanderlei Silva. Actually, everything that's happening to Wanderlei Silva, he brings to himself."

Penick's Analysis: This is starting to remind me in some ways of the Adrian Peterson situation in the NFL. Peterson at the moment is trying to act like the victim with the Minnesota Vikings, making it seem like the organization harmed him directly while refusing to acknowledge his own actions. Now, Silva didn't beat a four-year-old bloody with a switch, but the same principle applies here. The UFC didn't make him run away from a drug test, and the UFC didn't hand down the discipline towards him. His current predicament is on him, not the UFC, so White's response is in line with reality here.

[Wanderlei Silva art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]