Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will not attempt to make Brazil’s 2016 Olympic taekwondo team, his manager said, according to Brazilian MMA website Portal do Vale Tudo.
Silva’s manager did not respond to email and phone messages seeking confirmation Wednesday.
In April, Silva, a 40-year-old who reportedly started taekwondo at age 14 and is a fifth-degree black belt, wrote a letter to Brazil’s taekwondo federation’s president expressing his desire for Rio 2016.
Silva failed two drug tests in January and hasn’t fought in UFC since.
Brazil does not have a strong taekwondo tradition. There are no Brazilians ranked in the top 10 by the World Taekwondo Federation in the weight classes that match Silva’s UFC division.