In a video released Thursday, veteran Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Michael Bisping said that the news of Anderson Silva’s test failure for performance-enhancing drugs has tarnished his entire legacy.
Silva, 39, failed a random January 9 test for the substances drostanolone and androsterone. The news was announced by the promotion on Tuesday evening. In a statement provided to Damon Martin of FoxSports.com from Silva’s manager, Ed Soares, the fighter proclaimed his innocence and said he will contest the test failure. It was the first positive test of Silva’s career.
But Bisping said that Silva being nabbed on his first out-of-competition test could lead him to believe the former middleweight champion has been using PEDs for the entirety of his career.
“My initial reaction was sadness, disappointment. I was disappointed in Anderson, but then I thought about it and was like, ‘Hold on a minute—this doesn’t surprise me at all,'” Bisping said. “I believe this was the first time he was tested out of competition. So who’s to say that he hasn’t been doing this his entire career? That’s the question that is always going to be asked.
“His legacy is ruined.”
Bisping, long a vocal critic of the usage of performance-enhancing drugs in sport, has a unique history with PEDs. His five previous opponents were either prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (before its usage was banned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission last year) or were involved in drug-related scandals after Bisping faced them.
The former Ultimate Fighter winner said the test failure of not just Silva but his opponent, Nick Diaz, further tarnishes the already-damaged reputation of mixed martial arts around the world.
“Both guys in the main event failed their drug tests. It leaves a black mark in the sport. I can only imagine how pissed off Dana [White] and Lorenzo [Fertitta] would be,” Bisping said. “They worked so hard to promote a fantastic sport. But the individuals involved in it are looking for an easy way out.”
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