Brazilian taekwondo star on Anderson Silva's Olympic hopes: 'He can come in and try to qualify under the rules'

Anderson Silva's potential bid to be on Brazil's taekwondo team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro is already rubbing legitimate members of the team the wrong way.

"CBTKD (the Brazilian Taekwondo Federation) is thinking about the money that might come and who can benefit from it," two-time Pan-American medalist Diogo Silva told MMAFighting.com's Guilherme Cruz. "Anderson’s image is very profitable, he's the best MMA fighter of all time.

"CBTKD announced in 2015 their rules for the 2016 Olympics. The fighters among the 20 best in the world would have the privilege to be selected to the Olympics. The heavyweight division was selected to represent the country, and athletes have seven months to qualify under the rules, starting now. We don’t want the Olympics to become commerce. That would be like me going to MMA and fighting for the belt without going through the necessary trials. We are talking about a lot of people’s sacrifices and dreams. The line must be respected."

The former UFC middleweight overlord, who is facing a lengthy suspension for multiple failed drug tests before and after his bout with Nick Diaz at UFC 183, sent a letter to CBTKD president Carlos Fernandes expressing interest in competing at the Olympic games, with Fernandes calling Anderson's potential involvement a "magnificent possibility." 

"Taekwondo athletes love Anderson because he made us more valued, he knows how to kick and showed that many times, and we would be really happy with him in our sport. Without any privileges, though," Diogo Silva said. "He can come in and try to qualify under the rules."