Firas Zahabi Compares Anderson Silva To Lance Armstrong
When shocking news broke that the man who many believe to be the greatest fighter of all time, Anderson “The Spider” Silva, tested positive for two types of anabolic steroids in an out-of-competition drug test leading up to his UFC 183 bout, the MMA world didn’t know how to react.
Many were surprised, including former welterweight king Georges St. Pierre. St. Pierre’s long-time trainer Firas Zahabi also gave his opinion on the topic talking with MMAFighting, comparing Silva to another famous athlete who was disgraced by alleged steroid use:
“It’s horrible for the sport. Lance Armstrong has not helped the sport of cycling. A lot of people were inspired by his story and afterwards we find out that it’s a lie. Here, we’re going through something similar in our sport.”
“It’s unbelievable that they let them fight. Me personally, I would like the sport to be cleaned up. Because one day, a guy is going to die in the Octagon and we’re going to find out that the guy who killed him tested positive after the fact. Our sport is already dangerous enough as it is. If we add doping on top of that, it becomes madness.”
These are some strong words from a very well-respected trainer in the sport. And he could be right, as it seems the performance enhancing drug (PED) problem in MMA is growing exponentially.
And is Zahabi wrong to compare Silva to Armstrong? Armstrong was considered the greatest cyclist of all time, defeating cancer and winning seven-straight titles. Silva is considered the GOAT in MMA and owns the record for most title defenses in a row.
Pretty similar situations if you ask me.
When Armstrong gave up his fight to prove that he never used steroids, his titles were stripped and his legacy was tarnished. It’s currently unclear how this situation will affect the legacy of Silva, but according to Zahabi, he can’t be considered the greatest of all-time any more:
“Georges is the best pound-for-pound fighter. We have to drop Silva. If he really cheated, we can’t set this example for the youth. It’s ridiculous. Is Lance Armstrong considered the best cyclist of all time? No. A few years ago, the answer would have been different.”
It’s hard to argue with Zahabi here. As time moves on, how will Silva’s legacy be seen?
