Brazilian middleweight Bruno Silva will not be setting foot in the UFC octagon for some time.
Following a failed drug test last year, in which the UFC newcomer tested positive for multiple banned substances, Silva (full name Bruno Arruda da Silva) has been handed a two-year ban from competition. Silva had been expected to face Deron Winn in Greenville, SC before being pulled from the card as a result of his positive test.
USADA announced the fighter’s sanction in a press release Monday.
Per that press release, Silva “tested positive for boldenone and its metabolite, 5β-androst-1-en-17β-hydroxy-3-one, at a level inconsistent with boldenone meat contamination as the result of a urine sample collected out-of-competition on May 27, 2019. Confirmation of the positive test was achieved through additional analysis using the sensitive isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) method, which reported laboratory results consistent with the exogenous origin of boldenone.”
Boldenone is an anabolic steroid that is prohibited at all times under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy, which the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) oversees.
Silva did not submit any clear explanation for his positive test. However, USADA noted that instead he “argued that he did not know how the boldenone entered his system,” and later “speculated about a number of possible explanations.”
Tests of athletic supplements used by Silva all returned negative. The suggestion that contaminated meat was to blame for the positive test was found to be “implausible” by an arbitrator.
Bruno Silva’s two-year suspension is backdated to June 14, 2019, the date of his provisional suspension. Meaning he’ll be out until 2021. Silva (19-6) was the M-1 Global middleweight champion prior to signing with the UFC.
