Less than two weeks after basking in the glow of a bout many consider 2013’s Fight of the Year, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva is in the news for the wrong reasons.
Silva failed his post-fight drug test following his Dec. 6 majority draw against Mark Hunt in Brisbane, Australia. As a result, Silva will have to forfeit his $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, which will be shifted over to Hunt.
MMAFighting.com confirmed the news with a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The news was originally reported by MMAJunkie.
Silva applied for, and received, a testosterone replacement therapy therapeutic use exemption for the Hunt fight. However, even with the exemption, Silva’s testosterone level on the day of the fight was outside the allowable limit.
Silva will be suspended for nine months as a result of the test failure.
The 34-year-old from Brasilia, Brazil, who has battled a condition called acromegaly, was also suspended in 2008 after defeating Justin Eilers to win the Elite XC heavyweight title, when he tested positive for Boldenone.
UPDATE: In response to these revelations, Silva posted the following message on his Facebook page:
Clarification: Months before my fight I looked for the UFC doctor Marcio Tannure in Brazil so I could start the hormonal replacement “TRT” which was authorized and recognized by a professional. I started the treatment and 2 weeks before my fight I did all the exams required by the UFC. My testosterone level continued to be low so I was recommended by the doctor to increase the dosage. Unfortunately my level increased too much and caused me to suspend. I only did what was recommended by someone trained who understands about the subject therefore it was not my mistake. I’m cool because I know that the mistake was not made by me,I never tried doing anything wrong for my fight.