Wanderlei Silva (Pedro Henrique Enoshita)NSAC Reduces Wanderlei Silva’s Lifetime Ban to Three Years José Youngs February 17, 2016 News The ugly battle between Wanderlei Silva and the Nevada State Athletic Commission reached the end. On Wednesday, the NSAC unanimous voted unanimously to reduced Silva’s lifetime ban to a three-year suspension retroactive to May 2014. This means the former Pride and UFC legend can return to active competition as early as Spring 2017. The commission also retracted the initial $70,000 fine handed to Silva. Silva (35-12-1) made headlines after he fled from a random drug test in May 2014 ahead of a scheduled fight against Chael Sonnen at UFC 175, Silva later revealed he fled the scene because he had been taking diuretics, a banned substance, in order to recover from a fractured rest. It was not soon after the commission voted in favor of issuing “The Axe Murderer” an indefinite suspension along with $70,000 fine, which represented a 35 percent fine of the purse he was originally scheduled to receive at UFC 175. Silva will be required to submit a clean drug test if he does seek a return to competition.
