Bigfoot Silva planning September return, claims UFC doctor nearly gave him liver cancer

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight Antonio Silva has decided to drop his lawsuit against the doctor responsible for shooting him with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), which resulted in a failed drug test at UFC Fight Night 33 (details).

Probably because Dr. Marcio Tannure -- medical director for the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA) -- is now on the ZUFFA payroll, according to the former EliteXC heavyweight champion.

And filing suit against your own company is never a good look if you depend on them for work, so "Bigfoot" will instead focus on life after TRT, since the controversial treatment has been banned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), as well as CABMMA.

From his conversation with MMA Fighting:

"I had two lawyers taking care of that, but unfortunately he was hired by the UFC. He's not only the CABMMA doctor now, but also UFC's doctor in Brazil, so I can't fight against my employer. I can't risk losing my job for that. I had videos showing him injecting (TRT) on me, I had emails and everything, but I had to give up on that. After the suspension, I went to two endocrinologists and they told me I should thank God that I was suspended. They said that if I continued taking the dosage (of hormone) Dr. Tannure told me to, I would have liver cancer in a year."

That's a pretty serious charge.

UFC -- which acts as its own regulatory commission overseas -- sat Silva for nine months before stripping him of his $50,000 "Fight Night" bonus (more on that here). "Bigfoot" lashed out at Tannure for improperly administering his TRT, who in turn claimed he wasn't even the Brazilian's doctor.

Lots of finger pointing from both sides.

In any event, the 34-year-old Silva -- whose draw against Mark Hunt was changed to a "no contest" -- is working on his health after having shoulder surgery earlier this year (pic). He's expected to return to the cage in September against an opponent to be named.

TRT (and cancer) free.