ATT

(Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

The California State Athletic Commission came down hard on Antonio Silva for flouting his steroid suspension and fighting in Japan last weekend, but they also proposed to fine and suspend his manager, American Top Team’s Alex Davis, for setting up the bout.  Davis isn’t taking the action lying down however, as he told us this afternoon that he plans to pursue the matter in civil court.

“We’ve got to.  I don’t see any other options at this point,” said Davis, who maintains that he can prove Silva’s innocence on the steroid charges.  “We’re going to go through civil court.”

Davis described the CSAC’s action against himself and Silva’s cornermen as an attempt to “extend their jurisdiction to the whole world,” and said Silva was motivated by financial necessity to take a fight in Japan after the CSAC turned down his appeal on the steroid charges.

“Antonio has acromegaly.  He has to treat it.  He spends between $6,000 and $8,000 a month just on medicine for it,” Davis said.  “He needs to be able to keep fighting to make a living.  If it’s between Antonio’s health and pleasing the athletic commission, we have to choose his health.”

(The hell of it is, the fight was no good anyway.)

We knew that Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva was making himself an enemy of the California State Athletic Commission by flouting their suspension and fighting in Japan anyway this past weekend, but we didn’t know that he might also have condemned the friends who aided and abetted him.  

The CSAC is setting a February 10 hearing date to decide what to do about Silva, who claimed from the beginning that he was the victim of faulty steroid testing, but they’re also going after his cornermen and his manager, American Top Team’s Alex Davis, for negotiating the fight.  Dave Meltzer says Davis has been fined $2,500 and suspended for the remainder of his license for setting up the bout, and the CSAC’s Bill Douglas is notifying all athletic commissions about Silva’s cornermen and the assistance they gave to this fugitive from steroid justice.

Sounds like Bill Douglas comes from the Keyser Soze school of management.  He’s not just punishing Silva; he’s punishing his friends, his manager, his family, people who owe him money, people who owe his parents money… the point is, it’s needlessly harsh.  

Sherdog has confirmed previous rumors that WEC 36 — which is slated for September 10th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida — will be headlined by a featherweight championship match between 145-pound king Urijah Faber and highly regarded American Top Team fighter Mike Brown. Brown is coming off an impressive decision win over Jeff Curran at WEC 34, and has won 10 of his last 11 fights in organizations like Bodog Fight, HOOKnSHOOT, AFC, and DEEP. If you're unfamiliar with his work, check out the above highlight reel from VulgarATT.

All of Faber's WEC matches to this point have been held in Las Vegas or in his home state of California, but Brown will have the hometown advantage in this one, since he trains with ATT in nearby Coconut Creek, FL. WEC 36 will also feature the middleweight rematch between champion Paulo Filho and Chael Sonnen, as well as bouts between Mark Munoz and Steve Steinbeiss, and "Razor" Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone.

LOFL! Props to American Top Team.