Read The UFC’s Official Statement On Anderson Silva Suspension

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was suspended for one year by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) today (Thurs., August 13, 2015) following a long, arduous hearing that saw the disgraced fighter’s legal team appear to fumble the defense at several junctures.

His lawyer and a purported ‘expert witness’ named Dr. Brown apparently showed up with a complete lack of documentation to prove that ‘The Spider’ was not guilty of using anabolic steroids drostanolone and androstane in addition to banned anti-anxiety meds and sleeping aids in pre-and post-fight drug tests for his UFC 183 win over Nick Diaz, and the NAC was simply not buying it.

The defense maintained the stance that the failed test came from a tainted mystery sexual performance enhancer each NAC commissioner had well-thought, valid questions that Silva’s team looked simply unable to answer. That led to the harshest punishment for first-time offender Silva, who was also fined 30 percent of his purse and his win bonus. His win over Diaz was changed to a no contest, and Silva was also forced to pay legal fees and pass a drug test before being able to potentially return on January 31, 2016.

Silva’s reputation undoubtedly took a big hit, as most of his fans, including several fighters, thought that the honored champion should have shown remorse and asked forgiveness from the commission. But he and his manager Ed Soares did not, and now they must accept the biggest punishment they could have got, which was luckily under the old and less-stringent guidelines as compared to the UFC’s increased testing.

Yet not surprisingly, the UFC backed their longtime star, choosing to stand by ‘The Spider’ while also supporting the NAC’s effort to clean up MMA in a statement released on their website. Read the UFC’s by-the-book response right here:

Following the Nevada Athletic Commission’s hearing today, Anderson Silva is required to serve a 12-month suspension from competition, retroactive from his last fight on January 31. At the conclusion of his suspension, Silva must present a clean test upon reapplication of a license before his next fight in Nevada. The UFC organization maintains a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by its athletes, and fully supports the Commission’s ongoing efforts to ensure clean competition by all MMA athletes.

UFC recognizes Silva’s great career and looks forward to his return to the Octagon in 2016.