Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva insists failed post-fight test ‘not my mistake’

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva does not contest the results of his recent failed post-fight drug test, but he takes extreme exception with anyone who believes it was his fault.

The heavyweight today took to Facebook to blame his attending doctors for his elevated levels of testosterone.

Clarification: Months before my fight I looked for the UFC doctor Marcio Tannure in Brazil so I could start the hormonal replacement “TRT” which was authorized and recognized by a professional. I started the treatment and 2 weeks before my fight I did all the exams required by the UFC. My testosterone level continued to be low so I was recommended by the doctor to increase the dosage. Unfortunately my level increased too much and caused me to suspend. I only did what was recommended by someone trained who understands about the subject therefore it was not my mistake. I’m cool because I know that the mistake was not made by me,I never tried doing anything wrong for my fight.

As MMAjunkie first reported, Silva was approved for testosterone-replacement therapy in advance of the bout but still failed his post-fight drug test following a “Fight of the Year” candidate against Mark Hunt in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 33, which took place in Australia earlier this month. With no athletic commission in place to oversee the event, UFC officials acting as the regulatory body.

UFC officials suspended Silva for nine months and took his $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus and awarded it to Hunt.

It’s not the Silva’s first encounter with TRT.

MMAjunkie has learned from sources close to the fighter that in March, the 34-year-old Brazilian received medical clearance to undergo TRT and began the process of applying for a therapeutic-use exemption with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which regulated his unsuccessful bid for the heavyweight title against champ Cain Velasquez at UFC 160. Silva submitted to the NSAC a recommendation from a Brazilian endocrinologist who worked within a government program. The endocrinologist, Dra. Nina Rosa de Castro Musolino of the University of Sao Paulo Medical School, first treated Silva in April 2011.

Silva, she wrote, has “hormonal evaluations … showing a central hypogonadism (partial hypopituitarism), confirmed by low, total and free, testosterone levels with normal/low gonadotropin levels.”

The application, however, was withdrawn when the NSAC informed Silva’s camp that there wouldn’t be enough time to evaluate the medical necessity of the treatment.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 33, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Antonio Silva)