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05/01/09 - Antonio Silva faces fight licence revocation
Antonio ‘Bigfoot' Silva may have his license to fight revoked by the California State Athletic Commission when it meets today.
The Brazilian was given a year-long suspension for steroid use by CSAC last summer, but fought at Sengoku 7 in Japan this weekend, stopping Yoshihiro ‘Kiss' Nakao in the first round.
CSAC's jurisdiction does not extend internationally, but athletic commissions generally frown of fighters competing abroad while banned in the USA.
Silva's cornerman and others who "aided and abetted" him will also face disciplinary action, according to the Wrestling Observer.
Should Silva have his license rescinded, it will make it difficult for him to fight in the USA ever again, under any athletic commission.
This is because the athletic commission in the state Silva wanted licensing for would be able to see, with a simple background check, that he had been banned and revoked by California.
Once one athletic commission has made a decision, others tend not to constructively overrule them and Silva faces the possibility of being forced to compete outside the US for the rest of his career.
Nakao, who Silva beat this weekend, is known as ‘Kiss' because of an incident with Heath Herring at K-1 Dynamite 2005.
As the two squared off, Nakao planted a kiss on Herring's lips, which prompted the Texan to lose his temper and hit him with a right hook.
This earned Nakao the dubious distinction of being one of the few professional fighters to be knocked out before a bout had even started.
John Joe O'Regan
John.fightersonly@gmail.com
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