UFC alleges defamation, business disparagement by Wanderlei Silva

Ever since he fled a random Nevada Athletic Commission drug test in May 2014 and was subsequently indefinitely suspended, Wanderlei Silva has been a vocal critic of the UFC and its president, Dana White. From fight fixing to drug testing to the status of MMA fighters as independent contractors, Silva has unabashedly made known what seemed to be any thought that popped into his head regarding his former employer.

The UFC was not amused. Last night, Bloody Elbow broke the news that the promotion officially filed a lawsuit against the legendary Silva for "Intentional Misconduct." That was all we knew at the time. Now the full complaint has emerged.

Per the complaint, the UFC has been monitoring Silva's remarks for over a year and "largely dismissed Silva's attacks as the misguided rants of a disgruntled ex-fighter." As it turns out, the promotion gets very angry when accused of fight fixing and it believes Silva did exactly that six days ago in his July 23 Facebook posts. "Silva's latest outburst, however, has indisputably crossed the line and necessitates swift legal redress."

While Silva's comments were in Portuguese, the UFC believes his statements "spread like wildfire" throughout the MMA community and were particularly damaging in Brazil.

The damage from Silva's statements is not limited to this country. The UFC organization is a global brand with a significant presence in many foreign countries. Chief among them is Brazil where the UFC has promoted numerous events throughout the country, has a local office in Sao Paulo, and is contracted with numerous Brazilian fighters. Silva is a native of Brazil. Accordingly, his comments in Portuguese (Brazil's native language) are particularly damaging in Brazil given the UFC's large pool of fighters and fan base located there.

The specific charges in the complaint are for defamation and business disparagement and seek compensatory damages of $10,000, as well as punitive damages, attorney fees and interest.

Match fixing is a serious allegation aimed at the underlying, competitive heart of any sports organization. While this surely matters from a fan perspective, the UFC expresses special concern as a promoter required to follow rules and regulations governing the sport of MMA in which "none is more important than the requirement that the outcome of all contests between fighters be honestly determined."

Since the UFC's majority owners, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, are both subject to Nevada gaming licenses in their respective roles as CEO and Manager of Station Casinos, they argue Silva's allegations are even worse.

Silva's allegations of fight-fixing are even more heinous considering that Zuffa's principal owners and members of its senior management are Nevada gaming licensees who are required to scrupulously comply with a variety of laws and regulations to ‘ensure that gaming is free from criminal and corruptive elements' and to maintain ‘[p]ublic confidence and trust.'

The UFC today issued a statement to MMA Fighting on the lawsuit.

Zuffa, LLC, dba the Ultimate Fighting Championship, filed suit against Wanderlei Silva in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas last evening based on the false and defamatory statements published by Mr. Silva last week. The company will have no further comment on the matter at this time, and refers all inquiries to its counsel at the law firm Campbell & Williams.

It's unlikely that $10,000 plus any punitive damages matters much to a large organization such as the UFC. It's clear from the complaint that the focus is on their reputation for following the rules and regulations of honest competition in sports, which means they're probably most looking forward to getting Silva under oath and seeing what comes out of his mouth then.

Bloody Elbow will keep readers updated with new developments as the case progresses.

Paul is Bloody Elbow's analytics writer and former provider of expert witness support in antitrust cases. Follow him @MMAanalytics.