Former UFC champ Anderson Silva: I never needed any type of illegal substance to fight

In November of the past year, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was pulled from his scheduled headliner fight against Kelvin Gastelum in Shanghai, China. All of it was due to his second failed drug test in the UFC, where he tested positive for two banned substances.

“The Spider” got some form of reprieve early this week when USADA confirmed that his failed drug test was due to contaminated substances, something that his team has been claiming since the news broke. In an interview with MMA Fighting on Thursday, the 43-year-old Silva was simply relieved by these recent developments.

“I feel that the most important thing was establishing the truth. The doubt about what really happened was bothering me the most,” Silva said. “Some people kept asking me to talk, but I didn’t say absolutely nothing because I wanted the truth to come out. I never needed any type of illegal substance to fight, I’m against that, and thank God the truth was established.”

Similar to Jon Jones, many would argue that Silva should no longer be considered as one of the greatest of all-time, given these two failed drug tests. It is something that Silva is not too bothered about, especially since he feels far from being done with his fighting career.

“I can’t change people’s opinions,” Silva said. “I can go after the truth, like I did, and prove the truth. That’s what I’ve done. Changing people’s opinions, I can’t change that. I have my truth, and that’s what matters to me, to my family, and to everyone around me.”

“I can’t say what should or shouldn’t be done. I have my fans in the sport,” he continued. “To me,B.J. (Penn) will continue being the best of all time. He’s someone I admire a lot, I have a huge respect for him. And ‘Minotauro’ (Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira), man. These two guys are super heroes of this sport.”

“I can’t talk about me, it’s hard to talk about yourself. I have my history, my legacy, and will continue doing my job, and who knows, one day, when I stop fighting, I can give you a better answer.”

Silva and his team have yet to determine whom they want to face next, but one of the matchups that continues to draw buzz even just for the hardcore fan base is a fight against Georges St-Pierre. While it may be way too overdue, Silva is not counting it out fully just yet.

“Anything is possible in the UFC, man,” Silva said. “It’s a very eclectic company, with a broad vision of the sport. They are going through a new moment, a moment of entertainment, so anything can happen.”

Silva has not seen action since UFC 208 in February 2017, where he defeated Derek Brunsonvia a controversial unanimous decision verdict.