There was a subtle trepidation leading into Chael Sonnen’s long awaited grudge match with Wanderlei Silva.
Both men left the UFC in disgrace, with one failing a PED test and the other literally running away from one.
Considering Sonnen and Silva’s murky history when it comes to performance enhancing drugs, it should come as a relief that the New York State Athletic Commission announced that both men have passed their pre-fight drug tests, and the fight has been cleared to go for tomorrow night.
NYSAC representative Laz Benitez confirmed the news released a one-sentence statement today about the testing: “The (NYSAC) has completed out-of-competition testing for the Sonnen-Silva bout at (Bellator NYC) and looks forward to Saturday night.”
The details regarding when and where the tests occurred were not released.
However, at least the NYSAC is taking drug screening seriously l, especially considering the background of the two top-billed opponents.
Silva and Sonnen were last supposed to fight back at UFC 175. Before that, the two were scheduled to throw down at an Ultimate Fighter finale when the two coached alongside one another.
But it was the aftermath of their scheduled UFC 175 bout that continues to raise eyebrows amongst commissions nationwide. Sonnen tested positive for human growth hormones (HGH) and was nailed with a two-year suspension.
Silva ran from a drug test, eventually admitting to taking a banned diuretic. He was handed a three-year suspension.
While Sonnen has fought since then (losing to Tito Ortiz), Silva initially retired from MMA following the suspension, and hasn’t fought at all since 2013.
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