Chris Weidman: Anderson Silva’s second failed drug test ‘definitely tarnishes his legacy’

Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva will forever be linked in mixed martial arts history.

In 2013, Weidman ended Silva’s incredible 16-fight winning streak and seven-year UFC middleweight title reign. The streak was and is still the longest in UFC history. And at the time, Silva’s 10 straight title defenses were also a UFC record.

Weidman put a halt to it all with a second-round knockout to win the belt at UFC 162. He then beat Silva again at UFC 168 five months later to retain the title.

It was one of the biggest stories of that year and will forever be remembered in MMA annals. Since then, Silva has just one victory on his résumé. He did, however, add two failed drug tests.

In November, the UFC announced Silva had failed an out-of-competition USADA drug test, knocking him out of the UFC Shanghai main event against Kelvin Gastelum. Silva previously failed a drug test for steroids in 2015 in his comeback fight after shattering his leg in gruesome fashion in the Weidman rematch.

Silva denied knowingly taking the banned substances then and has denied the most recent positive drug test, as well, implying he might have taken a tainted supplement.

Weidman thinks these two situations have put a dent in Silva’s incredible history as perhaps the greatest UFC champion of all time.

“Yeah, it definitely tarnishes his legacy,” Weidman told MMA Fighting in an interview to promote his television work with MSG Network in the New York area. “You fail a drug test, your whole career is in question, in my opinion. And he failed them now twice. So definitely it tarnishes his legacy. I don’t know what else to say about that. It’s just another one bites the dust. It’s one after another. Literally almost every guy I ever fought at this point has failed a drug test.”

Weidman has names like Yoel Romero, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, Tom Lawlor and Silva on his record, all of whom have failed drug tests in their UFC runs. So, Weidman isn’t all that shocked anymore when he hears about a UFC anti-doping policy violation.

“I’m not really that surprised,” Weidman said. “After the first one and now this one. He’s older now. I don’t know. I’m not super surprised. In Brazil, I know the steroids are very easy to get. A lot of guys were probably on them a long time. I’m not super surprised. The reality is that it definitely tarnishes his legacy.

“All these guys are on it. Even Lyoto Machida failed a drug test. I didn’t think he was that guy. All the guys — Yoel Romero, Vitor Belfort. Go on Sherdog and look at my record. Literally almost every single guy I ever fought has failed a drug test.”

Oddly enough, Weidman and Silva almost crossed paths again last year. Weidman said the UFC offered him a fight with Silva on short notice at UFC 212 back in June in Brazil, but Weidman said he wasn’t all that interested since he’s already beaten Silva twice.

“I don’t think that was enough to be ready for that fight,” Weidman said. “I don’t know what that fight would do for me. And then the Gastelum fight happened [in July]. He was a guy who was on a winning streak and people thought he would beat me. I’d rather fight guys like that.”