Anderson Silva breaks silence after potential USADA violation: 'I will not give up'

Anderson Silva has broken his silence.

The former UFC middleweight champion last week was notified of a potential violation of the UFC’s anti-doping policy, causing his removal from the UFC Fight Night 122 headliner vs. Kelvin Gastelum.

Silva (34-8 MMA, 17-4 UFC) had yet to speak up – until tonight, tweeting declaring in a tweeted statement that he “will not give up” and “nothing changes my plans” as far as continuing his MMA career.

Obviously I think everything is part of a process of evolution. With each passing day, I can learn more about who I am. I’m here to thank all my fans, especially my coaches and all the contributors for this long journey. I can’t express my feelings and how sad I am, because we all invest love, passion and time in this camp. I don’t know exactly the plans of God for me. But anyway, I can only thank him and all of you for the love and affection. Nothing is more gratifying at this moment than having you by my side. I will not give up, much less stop doing what I love. Not because of fame or money, it’s because I love to fight. So no matter what happens from now on, nothing changes. My plans are the same. Nothing has changed. A big kiss for everyone and see you soon.

Although it’s Silva’s first potential violation under the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency program, “The Spider” is potentially a repeat offender. He failed a drug test around the time of his UFC 183 fight with Nick Diaz in January 2015 before USADA partnered with the UFC.

Silva was handed a one-year suspension and $380,000 fine from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his 2015 failure, which he claimed was the result of a tainted sexual enhancer.

As a result of Silva’s forced withdrawal, Gastelum (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will now meet Michael Bisping (30-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 122, which takes place Nov. 25 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai China and airs on FS1.

For more on UFC Fight Night 122, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.