Last Friday, Anderson Silva was notified that he failed the USADA Drug test and was pulled from his main event fight against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Shanghai. Since then, the former middleweight champion has kept quiet on the situation, but finally released a statement on Tuesday evening. Silva more so dances around the subject and thanks his fans in the end for his support.
The USADA will handle the adjustication and results management process for Silva, who could face a longer-than-usual suspension due to his previous failed drug test back in 2015 before his fight against Nick Diaz at UFC 183. The substance that Silva tested positive for in the out-of-competition test, stemming from an Oct. 26 sample collection, has not been announced, per UFC and USADA policy.
In place of Anderson Silva, the former middleweight champion Michael Bisping will now take on Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Shanghai in the main event on November 24.