A. Silva (photo) received a one-year suspension Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
More than six months after being caught in an anti-doping test at the UFC, Anderson Silva He finally received his punishment from the Nevada Athletic Commission. In a hearing held this Thursday (13), the former champion received a 12-month suspension, saw the victory over Nick Diaz turned into a fight without result and was fined US$380.
Mistakes: Anderson trial is marked by gaffe festival
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During the session, Anderson presented testimony considered by the commissioners as “inconsistent” and stated that anabolic substances were present in a sexual stimulant, which he received as a gift from a friend in Thailand. Furthermore, the fighter admitted that he took anxiolytics the day before the fight, as he had back pain, was unable to sleep and was anxious to face Nick Diaz.
However, some flaws in the fighter's defense could be noticed. His lawyer, Michael Alonso, stated that, in order to detect the origin of the banned substances, he had tested all the supplements and medicines taken by “Spider” in the months before the fight. There, according to him, the substance drostanolone, one of the anabolic steroids with which Anderson was caught, had been detected in the sexual stimulant.
However, the defense did not have with it the formalized results of all these tests. Furthermore, the expert witness used by the defense stated that, in these tests, the substance androsterone was not found, with which Anderson was also caught.
More contradictions
Anderson's testimony also showed inconsistency regarding the period of ingestion of such a sexual stimulant. Initially, the Brazilian had stated that he took the substance for the last time approximately on January 8th, when he had returned to the city where he lives, Los Angeles, in the final stretch of his preparation for the fight.
However, when confronted by the commission that the substance would only remain in the body for a week, which would make a positive test on January 31 impossible, Anderson changed his version and said that, in fact, he had taken the stimulant the week before the fight. with Diaz.
This ended up not convincing the commissioners, who questioned Anderson's reasons for not saying that he had ingested the substance before the fight. The Brazilian stated that he felt embarrassed saying that he took a sexual stimulant, as it was a personal matter.
The verdict
Shortly before the verdict was announced, one of the commissioners classified the Brazilian's defense as “inconsistent”, and therefore wanted to apply the maximum punishment of 12 months. Another stated that he had the feeling that he was not hearing the full story about the case, suspecting that the sexual stimulant was, in fact, something to mask other prohibited substances.
In the end, all commissioners were unanimous in punishing the fighter for 12 months, counting from the date of the fight against Nick Diaz. Furthermore, the Brazilian lost 30% of his purse, plus the entire victory bonus, totaling a fine of US$380.
Thus, Anderson, whose record now stands at 33 wins, six losses and one no-contest, will be able to return to fights in February 2016. However, his license to fight again will only be granted if he presents a negative anti-doping test.
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