Report: UFC legend Anderson Silva’s USADA violation was for synthetic testosterone, diuretic

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was flagged by USADA on a test taken in October 2017.

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is in major trouble after his recent failed USADA drug test. According to a report from Combate, Silva tested positive for synthetic testosterone (methyltestosterone) and an unspecified diuretic, on a test taken in October 2017.

The 42-year-old will now expect a hearing with USADA, with an undisclosed date as of yet. Silva’s party also expects him to be judged as a first offender since he was trialed by the Nevada Athletic Commission in 2015, when he tested positive for androsterone, drostanolone, temazepam, and oxazepam before and after his bout against Nick Diaz. Those failures, which led to a one-year suspension by the NAC, were prior to the UFC’s partnership with USADA.

Silva’s reps said that the MMA legend would retire if given a suspension of at least two years. USADA may still factor in his previous failure and consider Anderson a repeat offender. If that’s the case, Silva faces a four-year suspension, with “aggravating circumstances” potentially doubling the maximum ban to eight years.

Anderson Silva’s last appearance was in February 2017, when he defeated Derek Brunson via unanimous decision. The win was his first one since October 2012, when he TKO’d Stephan Bonnar in Rio de Janeiro, and his first at middleweight since his TKO of Chael Sonnen in their highly anticipated rematch at UFC 148.

Most recently, Silva was expected to take on Kelvin Gastelum last November in Shanghai, China, but was removed from the card after failing the aforementioned out-of-competition test. Now it looks as if Silva’s days in the UFC may be coming to an unceremonious end.

Silva has vehemently denied PED use, recently saying that he’s never taken steroids in his life.