Silva Flunks Post-Fight Drug Test
The final result of the so-called greatest heavyweight bout in UFC history will now have an asterisk next to it. This was after Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone in a post-fight drug test in Australia after his December 6 fight against Mark Hunt in Brisbane. The bout’s result will be overturned to a no contest on Silva’s record and remain a draw on the official resume of Hunt.
UFC president Dana White who believed the fight between Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva was one of the best fights of 2013 said he was bummed out as he loved that fight so much.
According to a statement released by the UFC officials, all fighters on the UFC FIGHT NIGHT card were drug tested by an independent third-party laboratory at the event and all fighters passed their drug tests with the exception of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. The statement added although Silva is on a medically approved regimen of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), and had been in compliance with therapeutic guidelines on all pre-fight tests performed prior to the event but the results of his test on the day of the event indicated a level of testosterone outside of allowable limit. It was added that Silva has been informed that the elevated testosterone level is a violation of the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy and his Promotional Agreement with Zuffa. The UFC statement revealed that Antonio Silva will receive a nine month suspension retroactive to the date of the event and he must pass a drug test upon completion of the suspension before receiving clearance to compete again. It was further added that Silva will additionally forfeit $50,000 in bonus money and the forfeited bonus will go to his opponent Mark Hunt.
António Carlos Silva, the Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the UFC, had been medically approved for testosterone-replacement therapy and was expected to stay within legal limits at all times to continue using the treatment. Pre-fight testing showed the UFC fighter was in line with all parameters of the legal limits leading up to the bout but his post-fight test resulted in elevated levels of testosterone. This is the second failed post-fight drug test of Silva after he tested positive for anabolic steroids following a 2008 fight in the now-defunct Elite XC promotion. Silva tested positive for Boldenone, a steroid that has also cost fighters like Josh Barnett and Phil Baroni. He was then given a one-year suspension by the California State Athletic Commission and fined $2,500.
Silva is the former EliteXC Heavyweight Champion, a former Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion, and a former Cage Warriors Super Heavyweight Champion. He is presently ranked the #5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog and had competed in the past for K-1 Hero’s, BodogFIGHT, Strikeforce, and World Victory Road. Antonio Silva made his professional debut in the United Kingdom against Georgian fighter Tengiz Tedoradze and won by TKO only 48 seconds into the fight. Later on, he made his debut at the Cage Rage and became the Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion and then made a return to Cage Warriors to fight longtime veteran Ruben “Warpath” Villareal for the Cage Warriors Super Heavyweight Championship and won again via TKO, and became the Cage Warriors Super Heavyweight Champion.
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