Dennis Siver denies doping, blames unnamed supplement for failed drug test following UFC 168

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight Dennis Siver has gone public for the first time since testing positive for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) following his unanimous decision win over Manny Gamburyan at the UFC 168 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which took place back on Dec. 28, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And he wants mixed martial arts (MMA) fans to know he was not doping.

Instead, Siver explains, he put himself in the care of a new trainer, because his coach, Niko Sulenta, was suffering from cancer and unable to help him prepare for last year's fight in "Sin City." And with a new trainer came a new supplement, one that may have been responsible for his failed drug test.

From his statement to groundandpound.de (via MMA Fighting):

Prior to UFC 168 I had to hire an external personal trainer and nutritionist to support me with making weight. The nutritionist recommended me a new diet method from the US, which had been successfully used by the stars.

Thereupon I asked, if I, as a competitive professional athlete, could safely use this supplement. This was confirmed to me. Then I committed the fatal mistake of not making sure through the UFC if individual substances from the supplement could have effects on the drug tests.

I flew to the US and won my fight. I was all the more shocked when the result of the A sample was deemed 'inconclusive' and I was hoping for the result of the B sample. They found a small component of hCG in my urine sample - a minor ingredient of the diet preparation and a substance which is banned in the UFC.

I do not want to blame anyone for this result and I take full responsibility for my gullible and careless behavior. It was my mistake and it was grossly negligent. But I distance myself from any kind of doping. In my previous sixteen UFC fights, not even the smallest banned substance has been detected. This makes the current events all the more disappointing and shocking for me and my team.

Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has yet to issue a punishment or change the result of his win.

Siver first returned an "inconclusive result" when the original test results were released earlier this month (details). That prompted the commission to have the featherweight's "B sample" tested for further analysis and it returned positive for the banned substance, made famous by baseball's Manny Ramirez back in 2009.

Based on his otherwise squeaky-clean history ... are you willing to give Siver the benefit of the doubt?