Anderson Silva Handed One-Year Suspension

Anderson Silva Handed One-Year Suspension

By Jon Prentice

It has today been reported (via Ariel Helwani) that USADA will only hand Anderson Silva (34-8-0 1NC) a one-year suspension following a failed drugs test. It has been deemed that the failed test was directly caused as a result of contaminated substances. The ban will be back dated to October 2017, the time at which Silva was notified of the violation, therefore allowing the former middleweight champion to return to action in just 3 months time.

Silva tested positive following an out of competition sample provided on October 26th 2017, just weeks ahead of his UFC Shanghai main event showdown with Kelvin Gastelum. Michael Bisping stepped in for Silva, with Gastelum picking up a first round TKO victory over the Brit just weeks after he lost the title to GSP at UFC 217.

Silva stated, courtesy of his PR team: “I am vindicated. The past nine months have been extremely difficult. I felt like my career and everything I had worked so hard for was dying and my future was hanging in the balance. I knew in my heart that I had done nothing wrong …”

Silva has previous history with a failed drugs test following an in-competition test relating to a fight with Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January 2015. Silva then tested positive for the steroids drostanolone and androsterone and was subsequently handed a one year ban from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Silva has always vehemently denied knowingly taking any performance enhancing drugs, blaming his previous test failure on a tainted male enhancement product he received from Thailand.

It is reported that once Silva’s ban is up in October 2018 he would like to continue his career inside the octagon. He is currently 1-4-1NC in his last six fights dating back to October 2012, with his only win coming in an extremely close decision contest with Derek Brunson at UFC 208, with many believing that Brunson should have received the nod from the judges. At 43 years old Silva will be hoping to add to his 34 career wins before he decides to hang up the gloves.