Anderson Silva tested positive for steroid and diuretic in USADA drug test

Anderson Silva tested positive for two separate substances in his recent USADA drug test, MMA Fighting confirmed Friday.

The UFC legend had both methyltestosterone and a diuretic turn up in his system in a sample collected Oct. 26, sources confirmed. Combate was the first to report the news earlier this week.

Methyltestosterone is considered an anabolic agent in the UFC anti-doping policy, which carries a maximum suspension of two years. Silva, 42, has denied knowingly using any banned substances and is currently going through the adjudication process with USADA.

Per WebMD, methyltestosterone is a medication used by men whose bodies cannot produce enough testosterone and is similar to the natural testosterone a body produces. It can also treat breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Methyltestosterone is considered a synthetic anabolic steroid.

Silva, the former UFC middleweight champion, tested positive for anabolic steroids in multiple drug tests in relation to his UFC 183 fight with Nick Diaz in 2015. He was suspended one year by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) for the infraction. USADA is able to consider that failed drug test when it adjudicates Silva’s current case, per policy.

USADA will not comment on specific cases unless an athlete or his or her team comments on it first. Per the Combate report, Silva’s team is trying to get the previous positive drug test thrown out because it was not under the UFC anti-doping policy, which went into effect later in 2015.

If USADA considers the drug-test failure from three years ago, Silva could be facing a four-year suspension.

Silva, one of the greatest UFC champions of all time, was pulled from the UFC Shanghai main event against Kelvin Gastelum in November when the positive drug-test result came back.

Silva (34-8, 1 NC) still owns the record for most consecutive victories in the UFC (16) and previously had the mark for most consecutive title defenses (10) before Demetrious Johnson broke it last year. “The Spider” is still considered one of the greatest fighters in the sport’s history by many, but his late-career doping issues have cast a shadow over his incredible accomplishments.