For the second time in as many pay-per-view events, UFC president Dana White has a drug scandal on his hands. The promotion announced Tuesday that former middleweight champion Anderson Silva tested positive for drostanolone metabolites prior to his unanimous-decision victory over Nick Diaz at UFC 183.
“Anderson Silva has been an amazing champion and a true ambassador of the sport of mixed martial arts and the UFC, in Brazil as well as around the world,” the statement read. “UFC is disappointed to learn of these initial results. The UFC has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by its athletes.”
What’s more, Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports has reported Diaz also failed a drug test—his a post-fight screening for marijuana:
Of the two, Silva’s is the more severe infraction. Drostanolone is an anabolic steroid that is most regularly used by bodybuilders to reduce fat, per EliteFitness.com. It lowers water retention, which cuts weight and allows for a more toned physique. Silva’s positive test is interesting because it comes not long after he called for a lifetime ban on performance-enhancing drug users.
MMAFightCorner.com provided a PDF of Silva’s test results. Iole would later report that Silva failed a second drug test as well:
Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com also got confirmation from Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Francisco Aguilar that Diaz tested positive for “marijuana metabolites” during a post-fight drug test.
“When the guys test for the steroids, (they should have) no more fights,” Silva told Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie in October. “When you use the steroids, you use them for a long time. When you use the steroids for a long time, you have a problem. It’s a drug and it’s not good for the sport.”
This is Silva’s first positive drug test. The 39-year-old legend made his return against Diaz at UFC 183 following a 13-month hiatus caused by a broken leg suffered in a TKO loss to Chris Weidman. Weidman handed Silva back-to-back losses for the first time in his career at UFC 162 and UFC 168.
Some saw Silva’s return against Diaz as the first step in a comeback aimed at taking down Weidman, who is the current middleweight champion.
Should the Nevada State Athletic Commission further confirm Silva’s out-of-competition results, it’s possible we’ve seen the last of him in the Octagon. A suspension would undoubtedly loom, and Silva may consider walking away as he pushes 40.
The UFC has not commented on Diaz’s reported positive test for marijuana. In 2012, the Nevada commission banned Diaz for one year and forced him to relinquish 30 percent of his earnings from UFC 143 after a positive marijuana test. He previously tested positive in the state while working for Pride Fighting Championships in 2007.
Diaz has long been a proponent of medical marijuana, but it remains banned in Nevada. White told reporters prior to Diaz’s UFC 158 bout with Georges St-Pierre that the UFC would consider releasing Diaz from his contract if he tested positive for marijuana again. Diaz’s loss to Silva was his third straight, so he may be done with the promotion for good regardless.
This is the second straight major event overshadowed by drug controversy. Jon Jones, MMA‘s undisputed pound-for-pound king, tested positive for cocaine prior to his win over Daniel Cormier at UFC 182. The UFC fined him $25,000 for a violation of the its code of conduct.
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