It appears that Anderson Silva’s positive test from last October was due to a contaminated supplement. And with a one-year suspension retroactive to November, ‘The Spider’ plans to resume his career.
Former middleweight champion Anderson Silva tested positive for the second time in his UFC career last October. Ahead of UFC Shanghai, Silva had tested positive for two banned substances, an anabolic steroid and a diuretic in an out of competition urine test on October 26, 2017. The test failure left Silva in limbo, however on Wednesday, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani let slip some good news. It appears that Silva’s positive test was due to a contaminated supplement, effectively clearing Silva of intentionally doping.
USADA confirmed the suspension in a press release on Wednesday afternoon. Per their statement, “Following notification of his positive test, Silva provided USADA with an open container of a compounded dietary supplement product he was using at the time of his positive test. Although no prohibited substances were listed on the supplement label, testing conducted by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City confirmed the presence of methyltestosterone and hydrochlorothiazide in the product.”
The former champion said via his PR team that “I am vindicated,” adding that “the past nine months have been extremely difficult. I felt like my career and everything I had worked so hard for was dying and my future was hanging in the balance. I knew in my heart that I had done nothing wrong and fully cooperated with USADA during their inquiry to prove it.”
It is worth noting however that despite the positive test coming from a tainted supplement rather than Silva being directly at fault, he still will receive a retroactive one year suspension from the day he tested positive. That winds up being similar to the punishment that was handed down upon Jon Jones in 2016. The reasoning for that suspension was negligence, also likely the reason for Silva’s suspension. Fighters are expected to ensure they monitor all substances taken into their bodies, at all times.
Anderson Silva also seems intent on continuing his career, with Silva saying: “Today I have a renewed energy. My legacy is restored. I can focus on getting back into the ring and the next chapter of my life after fighting. I want to thank my family and fans for all of their love and unwavering support. I am excited for where future will take me and look forward to sharing the journey with all of them.”
Silva can return to the octagon as early as November 10 of this year. That’s the one-year mark from his period of ineligibility, per USADA. The former middleweight champion is 43 years old, with his last fight coming in Feburary of 2017 — a win over Derek Brunson.
