UFC legend Anderson Silva is training to become a police officer
This has to be an April Fool's joke, right?
Anderson Silva told a Brazilian media outlet this week that he's training to become a police officer in Los Angeles. Can you imagine being the first perp apprehended via front kick to the face?
Apparently, this is a legitimate thing despite the fact that Silva is almost as good at trolling the media as he is at making his opponents look ridiculous. Silva told Folha de Sao Paulo (via MMA Fighting) that he's serious about becoming a cop, because the occupation is in his family.
"I train every morning, take my kids to school and go to the police school," Silva said. "I’m studying at the Los Angeles School Police Department. I’m studying to become a police officer."
Silva, regarded as arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time, won't actually don the blue and put baddies in jail. He's just doing the training work in honor of his uncle in Curitiba.
"It’s a personal wish, something that will make my uncle happy," he said. "He thought it was a little weird that I’m not doing this here (in Brazil), but it wasn’t the right time. My brothers are police officers, my nephews are police officers. It’s a family thing."
Silva has always marched to the beat of a different drummer. His antics in the Octagon have drawn scorn. And the former UFC middleweight champion's dream is to take on Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match.
As for his MMA career, Silva is out of action until 2015 after breaking his left leg in grisly fashion against Chris Weidman in December. He has been chronicling his comeback on Instagram and his progress looks rather uncanny.
Many people thought the 38-year-old would never fight again. At least he'll have law enforcement to fall back on now. In addition to the millions he's made in the UFC, that is.
