MMA Fighting reports that most of the sponsors of Anderson Silva support him in spite of failing a drug test at UFC 183.
Silva denies any wrongdoing despite testing positive for two anabolic steroids. Dana White announced his support for Silva and has kept him on as a coach for The Ultimate Fighter Brazil.
Rede Globo, the Brazilian television network partner of the UFC has voiced its support of Silva. Similar to the UFC, it will wait until the “results are released and the Nevada State Athletic Commussion has made its decision.”
Most of his sponsors have voiced support for Silva. Budweiser, a longtime Spider sponsor, will not comment on the issue at the moment but has not severed ties with Silva. Hotel Urbano, a rather new sponsor of Silva’s indicated that it will continue to support Silva.
However, Brazilian soccer team Corinthians has denied currently sponsoring Silva. Corinthians had sponsored Silva through November 2014 but has no existing contract with the fighter since. Rather, the club claims that Silva has chosen to put its logo on his banner even though it is not paying Silva.
The rest of Silva’s sponsors from UFC 183: Do Bem, Viber and Sports Arena had not responded to a request for comment.
Payout Perspective:
The affirmation of support from Globo and Silva’s sponsors is similar to the support Reebok gave Jon Jones have his drug test failure. Obviously, these companies have invested in Silva and hope that its brand is not tarnished by supporting a fighter that may have used PEDs. The standard tact here is to support the fighter until its definitively proven otherwise. Silva has denied PED use and it’s clear he has an appeal process that he can pursue. If his appeal is denied, we shall see if the companies reassess its position.
Leave a Reply