In July, following a dominating Elite XC heavyweight championship victory over Justin Eilers, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (12-1) tested positive for the steroid Boldenone and was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) for a full year and fined $2,500.

Claiming his innocence, Silva took matters into his own hands and appealed the ruling in October. However, these things have more of a guilty until proven innocent theme to them instead of the other way around.

And the commission's final decision was to uphold the suspension when Silva's defense did not appear to sway the initial finding.

With his fight career being his family's main source of income, sitting out for a full year was not an option for the Brazilian. He decided to disregard the punishment and take a fight in Japan where the CSAC's suspension would not be recognized.

The big man's manager Alex Davis released this statement in early December regarding his client's decision to fight in Japan in spite of the CSAC's suspension:

"Antonio has decided to fight, he really has no option. He’s innocent, he’s tried to prove it and it fell on unwilling ears, and he has financial commitments that to not meet would have serious consequences for him. In light of these, he has decided to continue his career in Japan until when and if his situation with the CSAC is resolved."

While "Bigfoot" was victorious in the fight on January 4 against Yoshihiro Nakao, he still may have come away a loser. Apparently, the CSAC didn't take to kindly to him ignoring its suspension and its decided to take action.

On February 10, the commission will meet to discuss the possibility of revoking Silva's license to fight in the United States. In addition, team members and trainers who worked his corner in Japan will be dealt with as accomplices and could be punished as well.

Silva knew there would be consequences for his actions if he ignored the suspension. We'll have to wait until February 10 to find out just how severe those consequences are, but this doesn't look good for the Brazilian giant right now.

He may just have to get used to fighting in Japan.

Thanks to CombatLifestyle.com for the photo of Antonio Silva.