Report: Wanderlei Silva is suing the Nevada Athletic Commission

"The Axe Murderer" is taking the Nevada Athletic Commission to court.

Former UFC superstar Wanderlei Silva is suing the NAC, claiming the agency exceeded its authority when it handed him a lifetime ban in September, according to MMAFighting.com's Luke Thomas.

Silva's attorney, Ross Goodman, filed the suit, which reads in part:

The NSAC, like any other agency, is a 'creature' of statute and attempts to expand jurisdiction over subject matter not conferred by the legislature is without authority of the law and void. Here, the legislature clearly defined the NSAC's powers to 'issuing and revoking licenses.' Contrary to the wrongful action against (Silva), there exists no statutory authority, nor does the NSAC point to any, which allows it to expand its limited jurisdiction to include disciplining people who are not licensed by the agency.

Silva refused to comply with a random drug test prior to a planned bout with Chael Sonnen at UFC 175 in July, reportedly going so far as to run away from the testers.

"I'm suggesting that you send a message that Mr. Silva will never be licensed here," Deputy Attorney General Christopher Eccles said in September, according to Jeff Cain of MMAWeekly.com. "Running from a test, it's really terrible for the sport. It's terrible for all the clean athletes out there. I am asking that you tell him that you'll never be licensed here. You are done."

According to Silva's complaint, the NAC ignored a pair of statutes clearly stating that only licensees are subject to punishment for failure to comply with state testing protocols.

For more about the case, read Thomas's full report here.