“He deserves it,” said UFC head honcho, Dana White. “When Lorenzo Fertitta and I came into the sport, we were big fans of Wanderlei Silva. He has done a lot for the sport and deserves to be in the UFC Hall of Fame.”
The former Pride champion revealed that the news came as a complete surprise to him.
“I had no idea,” the 47-year-old Brazilian said in an interview with Megan Olivi. “It was a huge surprise. I felt really happy. You were close to making me cry.”
In September 2014, Wanderlei Silva received a lifetime suspension and a $70,000 fine for evading random doping testing prior to UFC 175, but a year later secured through the courts a reversal of that decision. In 2016, the Brazilian was released from his contract with the league, which he previously accused of fraud and organization of contract fights.
After that, “The Axe Murderer” had two fights in Bellator, losing by unanimous decision to Chael Sonnen and by technical knockout to Quinton Jackson, before ending his mixed martial arts career.