Anderson Silva Surprised By Drug Test Drama, Talks Rematch With Nick Diaz

News recently came out that longtime former UFC champion Anderson Silva was supposedly set to come clean about his multiple failed drug tests for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) drostanolone and androstane and anxiety drugs oxazepam and temazepam in the wake of his UFC 183 decision win over Nick Diaz.

Many felt it was more than time for “The Spider,” who had previously denied any wrongdoing, to simply state what he had done wrong and explain his position that was probably based on using PEDs to recover from his horrific UFC 168 injury.

However, he recently spoke up to TMZ Sports (quotes transcribed by MMAFighting.com) in classic Silva fashion, throwing yet another swerve at the public by saying that he was ‘surprised’ when the news of his failed drug test came out:

“I don’t know what happened. I’m surprised. When my manager called me and said ‘Anderson, we have a problem because you go to the test for the commission is bad’. I said, ‘What, I don’t know what happened’.”

That’s a hard line of defense to take, however, as Silva failed multiple tests, including a random out-of-contest screening from the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) and the normal post-fight test.

When presented with the question of whether or not he used banned substances to heal his broken leg, Silva said that he would need to check his supplements:

“Yeah, but I don’t think so. I need to check all the supplements I use.”

He admitted that the whole fiasco has been bad for the sport overall, but doesn’t believe it should affect his overall performance against Diaz: “I think this is bad for the sport, it’s so bad for me and my life,” he said. “And that does nothing to change my performance in the fight.”

Ultimately Silva plans on respecting the NAC’s ruling when they convene to decide on his punishment, which most believe will result in a suspension for “The Spider,” and he teased a potential rematch with polarizing Stockton native Diaz when his time is up:

“I respect the commission now. When all this (is) done, I go fight Nick next one.”

But Silva would be well over 40 years old by the time his suspension is potentially lifted, and Diaz has flirted with retirement for the third time in his last three bouts. Is this a rematch that you’d like to see down the road?

Photos by Jayne Kamin-Oncea for USA TODAY Sports