While most of us were watching UFC 184 on Saturday, the UFC posted a response to a Brazilian report that Anderson Silva will admit to taking PEDs leading up to UFC 183. Silva is mounting a defense which he claims his usage of PEDs was “therapeutic” and thus mitigates his wrongdoing.
The Brazilian website UOL states that Silva’s team is preparing a defense which claims that he took several banned substances but they were not taken “to gain an advantage on his opponent.” Presumably, they will argue that the use of the banned substances, Drostanolone and Androstane were done to help in recovering from his broken leg and that the dosages were minimal so that they would not give him an advantage.
Silva also tested positive for Oxazepam (an anti-anxiety drug) and Temazepam, a sleep deprivation drug. It’s believed he will claim that these drugs help with recovery from back spasms and muscle pain.
Payout Perspective:
Silva has repeatedly denied reports of his failed drug tests. Now it appears we get a new strategy. It’s hard to buy the defense since Silva broke his leg over a year prior to this fight so one might think that he need not be taking these illegal substances leading up to his February 2015 fight when he broke his leg in December 2013. It’s also hard to excuse the usage of the two other drugs, Oxazepam and Temazepam when you should know that these drugs are banned. It seems like this defense is being offered to mitigate the eventual punishment for Silva.
From a media standpoint, it’s an interesting placement to bury the news on Saturday night during an event when it probably knew of this information during the week. It’s hard to remember a time that the UFC has announced news at such an odd time.
BrainSmasher says
There is more to healing a broken leg than just the bone fusing together. There is rehab to get all the muscles working after months without use and getting that strength back. Not buying Silvas excuse as I feel he has been using for a long time. But PE’s will help him recover.
Logical says
Most athletes that go through such a devastating injury end up suffering from severe muscular atrophy due to them being inactive for long periods of time. Judging by the type of anabolic steroids he was taking, it’s obvious their use was to regain that lean muscle mass & accelerate recovery. Still cheating… even if there is a reasonable explanation for it.
JF says
He popped in his pre-fight tests too, sorry Silva, try again.
d says
Logical, he wasn’t using this for recovery. He cheated. He has been cheating since the days he was at Chute Boxe. This is why he got caught out of competition, and not in competition.
Shadess says
So – Break a bone and you are good to cheat (c) SIlva.
joe says
He tested positive before and after the fight.
He had never tested positive after a fight prior to this.
He had to take this for his leg. End of story.
d says
Enter the Silva sympathizers.
He failed his test on the 9th then passed his test on Jan. 19th, ie, he cycled off.
Drostanolone and androstane are not used for recovery for a broken bone. They are primarily used to cut fat and increase lean muscle. They are blatant peds. His physique was the same it has always been. The guy has been cheating for years.
BrainSmasher says
Again there is more to recovery than just a broken bone. You lose lots of strength and miscle mass from injuries like this. My brother tore his meniscus recently which is very minor. But he was unable to use it for over a month. Now, 2 months after surgery and completing rehab, his leg was noticeable a lot smaller and has almost no strength in it. A steroid would speed up the recovery process of mass and strength. Also proof of a cycle isn’t proof of his reasoning for taking it. Cycling is the proper way to use the roids. His reason for using them could still be his leg if one was to believe this was his first time using.
But like I said I don’t buy that as an excuse for Silva. If he was having issues in the recovery process. He would have never signed on to fight. It was his choice to return to fighting as soon as he did. There was no reason for him to need to speed up the process as he has plenty of money and a few more months wouldn’t have mattered. I don’t believe this is his first time as we saw years ago syringes in his closet in his house which is a little suspicious. Then the fact he hasn’t been randomly test from my knowledge and his build, upper body strength compared to his body type, history of chute boxe, success in the sport that has lots of users, etc. people are neieve to think just because someone got caught that this was their first time. The success rate of catching a crime or any cheater in sports is very low. That’s why people still trying at such a high rate. They are rarely caught. For Silva to get busted on his first user by a random test. The odds would be extremely high.
Jerome says
Only a simpleton—aka a mindless Silva fanboy/girl—will buy his comical excuse.
The reality is that neither anabolic steroid will help with recovering from a broken bone. In addition, he had plenty of time to build back the muscle that atrophied during the healing phase. Remember, he is a pro athlete with access to the best physical therapy and best orthopedic doctors in the world. Thirteen months is more than enough for a pro athlete.
The other problem is that he re-took (sometime after January 19th) one of the anabolic steroids at fight time, which indicates he used it for a competitive advantage and NOT for recovery! We know this because he first tested positive on January 9th, then he tested clean on January 19th. On January 31st (fight time) he tested positive again.
Why would he stop the anabolic steroids a couple weeks out from the fight, then restart them again AT fight time—his recovery was ALREADY COMPLETED by that point!
Silva and his dolt fans need to STFU and accept truth…..Silva cheated!