Both
Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz failed drug tests related to their fight at UFC
183 last weekend which headlined the pay-per-view card, a bout that Silva won
by unanimous decision.
Silva
tested positive for steroids in a drug test administered on Jan. 9 as part of
an out-of-competition test, Yahoo's Kevin Iole reported. He tested positive for
drostanolone and androsterone. The results were not released/disclosed until
Tuesday.
Diaz, who
is a two-time offender and has been suspended previously for marijuana use,
tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test. He will likely face
significant discipline for the offense.
Both
fighters were coming off lengthy layoffs when they met over the weekend. Silva
was fighting for the first time since breaking his leg in a loss to Chris
Weidman in Dec., 2013, while Diaz was back in the octagon after taking a nearly
two-year break from fighting.
The UFC
issued the following statement about the drug tests:
On
February 3, 2015, the UFC organization was notified by the Nevada State
Athletic Commission that Anderson Silva tested positive for Drostanolone
metabolites on his Jan. 9 out of competition drug test. UFC’s understanding is
that further testing will be conducted by the Commission to confirm these
preliminary results. Anderson Silva has been an amazing champion and a true
ambassador of the sport of mixed martial arts and the UFC, in Brazil as well as
around the world. UFC is disappointed to learn of these initial results. The
UFC has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or
performance enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by its athletes.
A few
questions and comments immediately come to mind regarding the situation. One,
if Silva tested positive nearly a month prior to the fight, why was he allowed
to fight? Did the UFC really not receive the results from the test until this
week? Questions will persist about whether there was a cover-up to allow him to
fight because it would have been a disaster to cancel the card. Two, you have to
wonder if he retires given that he is facing a lengthy suspension. Three,
apparently Diaz isn’t as good at beating drug tests as he thinks he is.
News Credit: MSN
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