It’s been a bad week for the UFC with injuries taking out several high profile fights on upcoming cards, but that’s nothing compared to this latest kick to the junk: Anderson Silva has failed a USADA drug test just two weeks before he was set to headline a UFC event in Shanghai against Kelvin Gastelum. As it stands there’s no word on what exactly he tested positive for.
This is the second drug test failure for Silva, who ruled over the middleweight divisions of MMA for a decade between 2003 and 2013. In 2015, his win over Nick Diaz was turned into a No Contest after Silva tested positive for the anabolic steroids Drostanolone and Androstane. Anderson blamed the whole affair on ‘Thai sex juice’ a friend gave him, which seems to be the strange new excuse a lot of UFC fighters have been giving when testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
It’s unclear whether USADA will take into account the 2015 suspension considering it occurred before their drug testing partnership with the UFC came into effect. A ‘second offense’ suspension could cost Silva up to four years depending on the substance he tested positive for. For now, though, Silva has been removed from the UFC Fight Night Shanghai card on November 25th and officials are looking for a replacement to fight Kelvin Gastelum.
Oh yeah, let’s not forget to mention that this puts a final nail in the coffin of a Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva match-up. Many people were waiting to see how Silva did against Gastelum under the idea that it could reignite interest for the long desired but never accomplished superfight. ‘Better late than never’ was the general attitude, but with this latest development it’s probably time to accept that ‘never’ is where things will remain.
