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USA Today’s John Morgan with the news that UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has been fined $50,000 for a media event no-show in Los Angeles.
The event was set to help promote Silva’s upcoming title defense on July 6 at UFC 162 against up and comer Chris Weidman.
UFC President Dana White:
“We had a full media day set up for him in Los Angeles, and he just decided he didn’t want to do it, so he’s being fined $50,000.”
UFC 162 tickets go on sale May 10 and according to the report, Silva was supposed to speak with a few of the media outlets on Tuesday but skipped the event to go home to Brazil.
The UFC have had similar issues in the past when UFC welterweight Nick Diaz missed scheduled appearances in promotion for upcoming fights. Diaz was ultimately stripped of a title shot against Georges St. Pierre due to missing a press conference. However, White indicated that these planned events Silva missed where not major events like that:
“Nick Diaz didn’t show up for the press conference. This was just a smaller media day, but it’s still not acceptable, so we’re fining him $50,000.”
This is certainly worth keeping an eye on as Silva has communicated that he is eyeing potential ‘superfights’ with a recent phone call with White last week. I’m speculating here, but Weidman is relatively unknown to casual fans and a superfight against either Georges St-Pierre or Jon Jones would bring Silva way more money.
I should also point out that Anderson Silva’s manager Ed Soares declined to comment on the situation.
Stay tuned to ProMMAnow.com for more news and coverage.
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