It’s amazing how much drama has come to light that is related to the third season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. Anyways let’s take a look:
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 in review
The season overall had some good prospects and some good matches that could be considered fight of the year regardless of their exhibition status. However, we also had some drama as coaches Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen were constantly at each other’s throats. The pressure finally boiled over when Silva almost unprovoked started a fight with Sonnen on the set forcing members of both teams to break up the fight. Adding to the drama was Team Silva coach Andre Amade’s blatant assault of Sonnen instead of trying to dispel the situation, for which he was thrown off the show. It was a sad and disgraceful moment in the history of TUF and leads into the next section.
Wanderlei Silva’s antics are not new
While Wanderlei Silva is known as a generally friendly guy as well as a good sport, there have been incidents in the past where Silva has shown signs of the type of behavior we witnessed in this last season of TUF Brazil. The most notable incident happened on February 26, 2006 at Pride 31: Unbreakable. When Mark Coleman broke Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s arm by accident on a take down, Silva and his fellow Chute Boxe teammates charged into the ring and a melee ensued. Later on when Coleman offered a back stage apology to Silva for the incident, Silva refused to accept it. Coleman tried to dispel the incident as a heat of the moment brawl but it showed Silva’s temper.
Everybody’s drug issues
What further tarnished Silva’s reputation and to a degree legacy was the drama and politics in regards to the coaches fight. The fight was delayed several times because of Silva’s injuries sustained during the onset brawl and then pulled altogether when Silva refused a random drug test. This was also coupled with the fact that after he refused the test he took a flight to Brazil. However, this wasn’t the only drug drama related to the coaches fight as his replacement Vitor Belfort had some initial licensing issues. One being a random drug test.
However, what has proved to be the icing on the whole cake was Chael Sonnen’s positive drug test administered by a random drug test via the State of Nevada. The drama only became worse when after the news broke on Tuesday the 10th, Sonnen tried to initially justify it. This would’ve tarnished his legacy more if it weren’t for the fact that Sonnen yesterday decided to do the honorable thing and announce his retirement. Just the same it’s sad though that Sonnen had to retire as a result of testing positive for the banned substances Anastrozole and Clomiphene that he supposedly starting taking after going cold turkey on TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) so that he could have children with his wife (she is supposedly now pregnant). Overall it’s a sad situation and the repercussions have yet to be fully seen.