UFC
Nevada judge strikes down lifetime ban of Wanderlei Silva, orders new disciplinary hearing
May 18, 2015 - 1:35:10 PM Nevada judge strikes down lifetime ban of Wanderlei Silva, orders new disciplinary hearing

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Wanderlei Silva will get a new disciplinary hearing with the Nevada Athletic Commission, as a Nevada district court judge struck down the commission's lifetime ban against the fighter on Monday.

ESPN's Brett Okamoto posted news of the ruling on Twitter, which will give Silva a chance to appear in front of the commission once again.

Silva was suspended for life by the commission for running from a drug test they attempted to administer in May of 2014. Silva had been targeted for a fight with Chael Sonnen following their stint coaching on "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3," but had not yet completed paperwork to be licensed. However, the commission maintained they had jurisdiction to administer an out of competition drug test, and when Silva fled his gym and ultimately left the country after a sample collector attempted to do his job, the commission brought down the hammer.

Silva and his attorney, Ross Goodman, filed suit against the commission alleging that they did not indeed have jurisdiction over him as an unlicensed fighter, and that their discipline was unjust.

While the district court judge agreed with the latter due to the ban not being supported by "substantial evidence," the commission was found to have jurisdiction to conduct the test in the first place. Goodman is examining avenues to appeal that portion of the ruling, but regardless, another disciplinary hearing must take place, and a finite amount of time must be determined for his suspension.

Penick's Analysis: Expect Silva to get no less than two years, as that's what the commission gave Chael Sonnen for his own indiscretions last year. While they'll still try to fight the jurisdiction issue, it's clear that with a fight obviously on the way that they should have been able to administer an out of competition test. Silva arguing otherwise because he hadn't yet taken care of the paperwork for licensure is him trying to use a technicality. It wasn't them testing him six months away from a return date with no clear fight or opponent on deck. They tested him because the plan was for him to fight Chael Sonnen in Las Vegas. Now, the lifetime ban certainly didn't seem just, but they'll be punishing him harshly here anyway. Whether they try to follow the new guidelines they just voted on last week, or go the two years route after this lifetime ban got struck down, Silva will at least have a timetable for when he can seek being a licensed fighter again. That's if he chooses to do that, of course.

UPDATE: In addition to the suspension being thrown out, the court also found that the $70,000 fine levied against Silva was "arbitrary and capricious." Read the full ruling at the link below:

Link to Full Court Ruling

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