Anderson Silva is willing to get “embarrassed” while trying out for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but the former UFC middleweight champion will also be subject to random, out-of-competition drug testing.
Silva, who officially announced that he will enter the official tryouts to compete for a spot in the Brazilian taekwondo team for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, received a temporary suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission after testing positive for several banned substances before and after his UFC 183 bout with Nick Diaz.
“The Spider” is expected to appear in front of the NAC in May, but even a long suspension wouldn’t stop him competing at the Olympics.
However, according to a member of the Brazilian Agency of Doping Control (ABCD), Silva will be subject to random drug testing when he competes in taekwondo tournaments in Brazil.
“If he’s competing in official tournaments at the Brazilian Taekwondo Federation (CBTKD), he will be under the ABCD’s jurisdiction, so, like any other athlete, he can be subject to in- and out-of-competition tests by the ABCD,” ABCD secretary Marco Aurelio Klein told Globo Esporte.
Investigated by the Brazilian justice for fraud at the CBTKD statute, Carlos Fernandes said that having “Anderson Silva is like winning the lottery”, and didn’t believe his drug test results in MMA would affect anything in his Olympic bid.
Klein disagrees.
“For the ABCD, Anderson Silva competing in other sport, a different from the one he is suspended, is against the sports’ ethic, against fair play, against the Olympic principles,” Klein said.
“Anderson tested positive for anabolic steroids and, in this condition, he has advantages over other athletes who don’t use this banned substance,” he added. “For us, it doesn’t appear to be the best message to other athletes who follow the antidoping rules ahead of the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics in Rio.”