Anderson Silva, the most accomplished fighter in UFC history, was suspended for one year by the Nevada Athletic Commission after testing positive for multiple banned substances before and after his UFC 183 fight with Nick Diaz. The suspension, retroactive to January 31, includes a $380,000 fine and some stern words from the commission.
The punishment comes as no surprise following test failures for everything from steroid metabolites to anti-anxiety medications. For Silva, it could have been an easy afternoon and the first steps toward rebuilding his tattered legacy.
But, rather than admit guilt and accept the commission's verdict, Silva attempted a bizarre defense that included admission of regular use of off-brand medication to treat erectile dysfunction. The Guardian's Josh Gross has the details:
If there’s anything to be shocked by it’s that Silva was apparently oblivious that taking an unmarked sexual enhancement stimulant from Thailand might lead to bad results, or that he shouldn’t have notified regulators. But for three months after receiving the blue vial from Marcos Fernandes, whom Silva identified as the person who gave it to him, the former No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA apparently had no compunction about using the stuff.
“I’m human and I make mistakes,” Silva said through a translator. "It was definitely a mistake."
It was also, indisputably, hilarious, a comedy of errors that included incomprehensible testimony from Silva centering around erectile enhancement drugs, a mid-testimony firing of his translator, interruptions from pranksters calling the public conference line to play sexually charged songs like "Let's Talk About Sex" by Salt-N-Pepa and venerable MMA scribe Kevin Iole being forced to type the words "liquid supplement taken for sexual performance."
Scott says one of the supplements Silva took was a liquid supplement taken for sexual performance
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) August 13, 2015
As MMA Fighting's Luke Thomas explained, the tomfoolery was the perfect antidote to the Commission's overwhelming sense of entitlement and self-seriousness:
The NAC fashions itself as the Adults In The Room, deeply-concerned chin strokers who parade their patriarchal sense of knowing what's best for everyone in the most overly serious, moralizing of ways. Their job is important, but their sense of entitlement is outrageous. If their proceedings call out for anything, it's pranksters who aren't required to buy into their brand of enforcement, preferring to liven up the atmosphere instead.
Silva's test failures come at the tail end of what will certainly be a Hall of Fame career. He's built his legend on the extraordinary, making remarkable and balletic martial techniques appear almost run-of-the-mill. From knocking out former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin with a jab while in full retreat to the front kick that ended Vitor Belfort's night, Silva has wowed us for a decade.
When you think about it, it should come as no surprise that even Silva's regulatory hearings are spectacular fun. The former champion also caught a lucky break. Under new guidelines the Nevada Athletic Commission approved in May, Silva would have been suspended for two years for this initial offense. Since his test failures predate the new rules, he escaped with just a single year on lockdown.
The suspension ends the worst two-year period of his career, including a shocking knockout loss to Chris Weidman in 2013 and a gruesome leg break in a rematch later that year. He'll be ready to return to action by February, 2016.
Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report.
