Anderson Silva has been flagged by USADA for a potential UFC anti-doping violation. He has been pulled from his upcoming fight against Kelvin Gastelum in Shanghai, China on November 25th.
An out-of-competition sample collected on October 26, 2017 was flagged by USADA. Due to the proximity of his fight which happens in 15 days, he has been removed from the bout and the UFC is looking for a replacement.
You may recall that Silva failed a drug test from his fight with Nick Diaz at UFC 183. Silva claimed the failed test was related to a tainted sexual performance drug. Silva served a one-year suspension and a fine of $380,000.
Payout Perspective:
This is disappointing news for Silva and the UFC. The company had hoped it would make a splash in its debut in China. Silva is a big name in MMA and has international appeal. But, with his name off of the card, it will be hard in a short turnaround to find a replacement for headliner Kelvin Gastelum. For Silva, its another mark against his great career. We will see what Silva’s response will be on this issue. We will also see if USADA will treat Silva’s prior offense as a prior bad act as his previous drug test occurred prior to the UFC anti-doping policy.
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