Anderson Silva comes out in favor of MMA fighters doping to prevent injuries: “They put themselves in an extreme situation”

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva believes that doping has benefits for the sport.

‘The Spider’ is considered one of the greatest MMA fighters to ever compete. A former UFC champion who dominated the middleweight division for nearly a decade, Anderson Silva’s resume is incredible. Victories over names such as Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, and others have earned the Brazilian a place in history.

That being said, Anderson Silva’s legacy isn’t entirely spotless. In January 2015, the Brazilian failed a drug test following a win over Nick Diaz, popping for Androsterone and Drostanolone. In 2017, the former champion failed another drug test prior to a fight with Kelvin Gastelum, but the drug allegedly entered his system through a tainted supplement.

Years on from his UFC exit, Anderson Silva has no regrets about using the substances. During a recent interview on the podcast Flow, the Brazilian was asked about performance-enhancing drugs. There, he admitted that for MMA, doping is useful and arguably needed for a lot of athletes to recover.

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Image via: The UFC’s YouTube channel

“The kind of training an MMA fighter goes through is completely different than any other athlete from a combat sport,” Anderson Silva explained on the Flow Podcast. “They put themselves in an extreme situation. You have to train boxing, jiu-jitsu, wrestling. There’s physical preparation on top of that. There was a time when everyone was getting injured. If you’re taking something on doctor’s orders, and it’s not out of control, you’re not going to get injured.” (h/t BloodyElbow)

He continued,  “That’s also not going to change a performance at all in the fight. I’m in favor of testing on fight week. If you test positive for doping on fight week, then you f-cked up. A guy who’s training to fight on the same level as those guys who are at the top, there’s no way he’s not going to get injured. There’s no way. It’s so hypocritical.”

What do you make of these comments from former UFC champion Anderson Silva? Do you agree?