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Anderson Silva aims for Olympic taekwondo spot

Xinhua, April 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Mixed martial artist Anderson Silva has revealed a desire to represent Brazil in taekwondo at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The 40-year-old will compete in Olympic qualifiers early next year for a berth in the sport's heavyweight division.

"I'm trying to give back what the sport has given me," Silva told a press conference on Wednesday. "I started out doing taekwondo. Taekwondo changed my history. I'm already training, I never stopped.

"This is something I have always wanted to do. I couldn't do it before because of my obligations with the UFC. I stopped training taekwondo when I was 17, so I know I will face adversities, but it's a challenge I'm willing to take. I'm not worried about being embarrassed."

Silva is widely considered the most successful mixed martial artist in history, having gone undefeated in the UFC middleweight division from 2006 to 2013.

He is currently banned from UFC competition after testing positive for steroids during multiple tests earlier this year. Endi