Anderson Silva Issues New PED Statement; Still Maintains Innocence

Day after it was revealed that former middleweight champion Anderson Silva tested positive for steroids not only during an out-of-competition drug test prior to UFC 183, but also a post-fight test, the fighter has released a new statement in which he still maintains his innocence and claims he has never used any performance enhancing drugs.

In the message, released on Instagram, Silva points to his long track record of passing drug tests with no problems and says he’s still in the process of having everything he used during his recovery process analyzed in an attempt to find out why he flagged positive for steroids both on January 9th and again on January 31st.

Silva’s statement comes following a press conference by the UFC on Wednesday in which they revealed that they would now be ramping up their drug testing policy starting from July of this year with out-of-competition testing for every fighter on the roster backed up by potential bans of at least two years being implemented in an attempt to clamp down on the growing issue of PED’s in the sport.

Read Silva’s full statement below.

“IN RESPECT TO MY FANS

I will not say anything about who I am or what I went through to get here.
What matters to me now is the respect from those who have followed my career.
I bled, struggled and fought because I love it and because I always wanted to honor the flag of the country I love so much.
I don’t know what to apologize for, because I am still waiting for the results and analysis from the specialists that are working to reveal the truth.
Everything that I took since my injury are being analyzed. I look for the truth as much as all those who were surprised with the results. I always played clean, I was never a cheater.
In eighteen years of my career, I never had a problem with exams.
In and out of the Octagon I never slipped in compliance with the principles that always guided me. With much honor and dignity I defended my country where ever I fought.
I never used any substances to better my performance in my fights.
I love what I do and I would never risk what I took so long to build.
I think that the hurry some people have to condemn me is unfair.
The time it takes to destroy a reputation is infinitely less than that is taken to build it.
I am the one who is most eager to settle this situation.
I want those who have always supported me to know that I am still fighting for all the sad happenings of this situation to be cleared.”

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.