For Michael Bisping, Anderson Silva’s legacy has been greatly diminished by the second failed drug test.
Up until 2013, Anderson Silva was being touted as the “Greatest of All-Time” in the sport of mixed martial arts. But after two losses to Chris Weidman and two drug test failures in a span of two years, “The Spider” is no longer part of that conversation, and understandably so.
But for former middleweight champion Michael Bisping, the entire legacy that Silva built will forever be tainted by those PED controversies.
“Well, he completely destroyed his legacy in my opinion,” Bisping said during Wednesday’s UFC Shanghai conference call (transcript via MMA Junkie). “A lot of people have a short memory, and they’ll just remember his performances. His performances were great, but if you test positive for steroids twice? Once, you can talk your way out of it. Twice, I think the nail’s in the coffin.”
More than anything, Bisping feels disappointed with Silva’s predicaments, and how it affects the sport’s image as a whole.
“The guy was a cheat, and it’s a shame,” Bisping said. “It’s really, really disappointing. I was a huge fan of Anderson Silva. It’s just disappointing, and it’s a black eye to the sport of MMA.”
Bisping headlines UFC Shanghai against Kelvin Gastelum on November 25th.