Former UFC, PRIDE standout Wanderlei Silva to appear at Bellator 149 Fan Fest
By MMA Junkie Staff February 11, 2016 11:15 am Follow	@MMAjunkie
By MMA Junkie Staff | February 11, 2016 11:15 am	Follow @MMAjunkie
Wanderlei Silva
Bellator may have taken the next step toward getting Wanderlei Silva into its fold by getting the former UFC standout and PRIDE champion onto its Fan Fest lineup for next week.
The Bellator Fan Fest takes place Feb. 18, the night before Bellator 149, at Dave & Buster's (7620 Katy Freeway #100) in Houston. Bellator 149 takes place the next day at Toyota Center in Houston with a main card on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie. MMA veterans Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock meet in a trilogy rematch in the main event, and street fighting legends Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and Dhafir "DADA 5000" Harris meet in a co-main event grudge match.
The fan fest already had Tito Ortiz, Phil Davis, Liam McGeary and pro wrestling star and former Olympian Kurt Angle set to take part. Silva takes the place of Randy Couture, who previously was announced to attend. The event is for members of "Bellator Nation" only. Membership is free by signing up at bellator.spike.com.
In January, Bellator President Scott Coker said he was interested in signing Silva (35-12-1) to fight for the promotion, and that he had plans to meet with him to discuss a deal.
"Not every free agent is a fit over here, but Wanderlei is someone we would like to have a serious discussion with," Coker told MMAjunkie Radio. "… We'll have some dialogue."
Silva became eligible to sign with Bellator when he was released from his UFC contract in January following a highly tumultuous bit of behind-the-scenes drama with the promotion in the years following his final fight in March 2013, a knockout win over Brian Stann.
After that, Silva coached "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" opposite Chael Sonnen and was expected to fight him at UFC 175 in July 2014. But both fighters had pre-fight drug-testing issues, and as a result the Nevada State Athletic Commission handed Silva a lifetime suspension from MMA competition. Silva took the NSAC to court, and a re-hearing of his case is expected next month.
Following the suspension, Silva announced his retirement from the sport and began to feud with UFC officials, mostly via rambling video posts. The Brazilian accused the world's leading promotion of fixing fights, a statement that prompted the UFC to file a lawsuit.
The most recent chapter of the Silva-UFC saga saw Silva recant the fight-fixing accusations, and shortly thereafter, the two sides officially parted ways. With Silva contractually free to sign anywhere, Coker said he intends on pursuing one of the most popular and successful fighters in the sport's history.
That first step may have been inking him to the Bellator Fan Fest appearance next week.
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