UFC President Dana White: Ex-champ Anderson Silva 'radio silent' since potential USADA violation

UFC President Dana White hasn’t spoken to Anderson Silva since the former longtime UFC champ was hit with a potential anti-doping violation from U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in mid-November.

Silva (34-8 MMA, 17-4 UFC) was scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 122 this past month, which took place in Shanghai and marked the organization’s debut in mainland China. Several weeks out from his planned bout with Kelvin Gastelum, though, news broke “The Spider” had failed a drug test.

Although Silva has long been one of the UFC’s biggest names who White has largely shared a good relationship with, the UFC boss revealed at a recent media luncheon in Las Vegas that he has yet to speak with the Brazilian about the matter.

“Obviously (I was) bummed out,” White told reporters, including MMAjunkie, during the Q&A. “I was bummed out. I don’t know. They’ve been pretty radio silent. I talked to Ed Soares a couple times and he hadn’t even really talked to Anderson.”

Silva has only made a brief statement about the situation on social media. He claimed innocence in the matter and hoped to find out the substance which caused him to fail a test ended up in his system.

Despite officially having the right to due process, Silva’s history with a failed drug test following a January 2015 bout with Nick Diaz at UFC 183 hurt his credibility in the eyes of the public. Even Silva’s fellow Brazilian and former UFC champion Jose Aldo said the situation diminishes Silva’s legacy “a lot.”

Silva, 42, has had one of the most decorated careers in UFC history. Among others, he still holds the company record for most consecutive octagon victories at 16.

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