Anderson Silva, Nick Diaz, Hector Lombard issued temporary suspensions for drug testing failures

Anderson Silva, Nick Diaz, and Hector Lombard were all issued temporary suspensions by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) at a commission meeting in Las Vegas, NV on Tuesday for their recent drug test failures.

Silva, 39, and Diaz, 31, both failed drug tests relating to their blockbuster Jan. 31 meeting at UFC 183.

Silva tested positive for the anabolic steroids Drostanolone and Androstane in a random pre-fight blood screening on Jan. 9. Silva also tested positive for Drostanolone metabolites in a Jan. 31 fight night urine test, as revealed during Tuesday’s meeting and first reported by MMA Junkie. That same drug test also discovered a sleeping aid, Oxazepam, and anti-anxiety medication, Temazepam, in Silva’s system.

Because of a delay in the Jan. 9 results, the former UFC middleweight champion was still allowed to fight despite his failed tests. Silva went on to defeat Diaz via unanimous decision in his first appearance since suffering a grisly broken leg against Chris Weidman in late-2013.

“It screwed me up for a few days,” UFC President Dana White recently said of Silva’s failed test. “I was messed up for a few days after that.”

Diaz popped for marijuana metabolites in a Jan. 31 fight night urine test, marking the third time in Diaz’s career that he has failed a drug test for marijuana metabolites. Diaz previously tested positive in 2007, following a legendary win over Pride champion Takenori Gomi, and 2012, following an interim title loss to Carlos Condit.

Lombard, 37, tested positive for the anabolic steroid desoxymethyltestosterone in a post-fight drug test following his Jan. 3 win over Josh Burkman at UFC 182. Lombard was pulled from a scheduled bout against Rory MacDonald after the test results became public.

Silva, Diaz, and Lombard are all expected to receive full disciplinary hearings at an upcoming meeting of NAC officials, likely to take place in March. The trio face the possibility of suspensions and heavy fines, in addition to their bouts being overturned into no contests as a result of their testing failures.

The UFC plans to hold a press conference on Wednesday to discuss to state of drug testing in MMA and new regulations moving forward.

Anderson Silva, Nick Diaz, and Hector Lombard were all issued temporary suspensions by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) at a commission meeting in Las Vegas, NV on Tuesday for their recent drug test failures.

Silva, 39, and Diaz, 31, both failed drug tests relating to their blockbuster Jan. 31 meeting at UFC 183.

Silva tested positive for the anabolic steroids Drostanolone and Androstane in a random pre-fight blood screening on Jan. 9. Silva also tested positive for Drostanolone metabolites in a Jan. 31 fight night urine test, as revealed during Tuesday’s meeting and first reported by MMA Junkie. That same drug test also discovered a sleeping aid, Oxazepam, and anti-anxiety medication, Temazepam, in Silva’s system.

Because of a delay in the Jan. 9 results, the former UFC middleweight champion was still allowed to fight despite his failed tests. Silva went on to defeat Diaz via unanimous decision in his first appearance since suffering a grisly broken leg against Chris Weidman in late-2013.

“It screwed me up for a few days,” UFC President Dana White recently said of Silva’s failed test. “I was messed up for a few days after that.”

Diaz popped for marijuana metabolites in a Jan. 31 fight night urine test, marking the third time in Diaz’s career that he has failed a drug test for marijuana metabolites. Diaz previously tested positive in 2007, following a legendary win over Pride champion Takenori Gomi, and 2012, following an interim title loss to Carlos Condit.

Lombard, 37, tested positive for the anabolic steroid desoxymethyltestosterone in a post-fight drug test following his Jan. 3 win over Josh Burkman at UFC 182. Lombard was pulled from a scheduled bout against Rory MacDonald after the test results became public.

Silva, Diaz, and Lombard are all expected to receive full disciplinary hearings at an upcoming meeting of NAC officials, likely to take place in March. The trio face the possibility of suspensions and heavy fines, in addition to their bouts being overturned into no contests as a result of their testing failures.

The UFC plans to hold a press conference on Wednesday to discuss to state of drug testing in MMA and new regulations moving forward.