Anderson Silva’s Team Expects To Be Cleared By NAC Next Week

Longtime former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has been on the sidelines since late January serving a temporary suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) for failing pre-fight drug tests for anabolic steroids Drostanolone and Androstane, and a post-fight test for Drostanolone plus sleeping and anti-anxiety medication in conjunction with his UFC 183 win over Nick Diaz.

The unfortunate news about many fans’ favorite mixed martial arts (MMA) hero was discouraging for sure, and put the legend’s fighting history in jeopardy. But news recently arose that muddied the situation significantly when a conflicting set of results from his post-fight test appeared to exonerate Silva of using banned substances.

And apparently that lead “The Spider” and his team to believe that when he finally has his day before the commission, he will be cleared due to the inconsistencies in the two tests, according to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight. The report also revealed that NAC executive director Bob Bennett said, “I anticipate our findings to be accurate.”

Although the UFC has recently enacted brand new and more stringent drug testing effective July 1, Silva’s failures were under the old system, meaning he could be handed a suspension of nine months to a year dating back to January 31, 2015.

As for Diaz, who failed yet another drug test for marijuana at the fight, the Stockton native was also scheduled to appear at the August 13 meeting, but is reportedly seeking a later date due to schedule issues.

So “The Spider” and the NAC will go to battle next Thursday. Silva has maintained his innocence throughout the entire ordeal, and the commission seems confident that the legend was rightfully caught using PEDs.

Which side will win next week?