Anderson Silva surprises and speaks out in favor of doping to prevent injuries in MMA

A. Silva left the UFC at the end of 2020. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

The recent announcement of the end of the partnership between UFC and USADA (acronym in English for United States Anti-Doping Agency) from 2024 has heated up the debate about the relationship between MMA athletes and doping. Sports legend, Anderson Silva spoke out on the subject and said that testing should be more flexible, taking place only during the week of the fight.

In a recent participation in the 'Flow Podcast', Anderson Silva defended that MMA athletes can use certain substances, with medical approval, to prevent injuries during training periods.

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“Depending on the sport, yes (there has to be strict control). If it's an Olympic sport, it has to be there. I think the UFC shouldn't be so strict. It's not an Olympic sport. The training that MMA athletes do is completely different from that of any other fighting athlete, because they put themselves at extremes. The guy trains boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, sparring, physical preparation and a lot of other things. There was a season that injured a lot of people. When a guy is undergoing medical monitoring, taking something without getting out of control, he won't get injured. This won't change his performance at all in the fight. I am in favor of drug testing during fight week. If you fall into doping during the week of the fight, then it’s f***ed up, then it’s not possible”, said Spider.

Middleweight legend (up to 83,9kg) and considered by many to be the greatest fighter in the history of the sport, Anderson Silva He was caught in two anti-doping tests throughout his career. In 2015, Spider won victory over Nick Diaz withdrawn and was suspended for a year, while he claimed to have used a sexual stimulant from Thailand.

The second case happened in 2017, while preparing for a duel against Kelvin Gastelum. Anderson was caught by USADA, which later recognized that the Brazilian had ingested a contaminated supplement and reduced the sentence from two to one year.

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