After a wait that has spanned across almost three calendar years, Saturday night in Sweden will mark the return of one of the most underappreciated light heavyweights in the business. Thiago Silva will look to remind the world just how good he is, perhaps derailing the hype train of prospect Alexander Gustafsson along the way.
However, a question that many have regarding Silva and his return is whether or not he can rehab his image, as the reason he’s been out of action since the first day of 2011 is a PED test gone awry. No one ever said he wasn’t a bad dude, but he hurt his credibility in a big way when he tried to pawn off animal urine as his own to fool an athletic commission.
There’s no better way to erase those memories and silence those doubters than to collect a win against a man that many are pegging to be the next threat to Jon Jones at the top of the division.
Looking at Silva, he’s a man that many people have written off or outright forgotten about at 205. The Gustafsson fight will be just his sixth since 2008, and as he’s gone only 2-2-1 in that time people tend to overlook the Brazilian as a viable contender.
However, his two losses are to men who have held UFC gold (they’re also the only defeats he’s suffered as a pro), and the no-contest was a fight he won handily before his drug test spoiled it.
Objectively, Silva is much better than people realize. He just rarely gets to show it.
That could change in Sweden.
Like it or not, the MMA community has shown to have a short memory when it comes to PED users making a return to the cage. For better or worse, most guys who provide commissioners with nuclear pee at some point in their career are forgiven if they can perform in the cage.
Names like Stephan Bonnar and Sean Sherk are usually discussed for their fighting successes instead of their failed tests, while a guy like Josh Barnett still gets ribbed for his PED past but is enjoying fan support and encouragement to return to the UFC.
Silva will hope for the same.
It won’t be easy, though, as Gustafsson is an incredible athlete who is entering his prime, fighting with the added fire of a man headlining in front of a hometown crowd that’s never seen a UFC event in their country.
Considering that, perhaps even a spirited loss might be enough for Silva to erase the memories of the past couple of years.
Either way, Silva is back. In a division that’s deceptively thin outside of the top five, that’s a good thing. He’s a warrior with a kill-or-be-killed mentality, and past mistakes notwithstanding, there’s always room for that type of guy in MMA.
The road to reparation begins Saturday night for him. Only he can decide how he travels it.
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