Anderson Silva popped by USADA, pulled from UFC Shanghai main event

The script has officially been flipped.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Anderson Silva was flagged for a potential anti-doping violation following an out-of-competition drug test by United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

As a result, “The Spider” has been yanked from his Kelvin Gastelum middleweight fight at the upcoming UFC Fight Night 122 combat sports event on Sat., Nov. 25, 2017 inside Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China.

From the official release:

The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Anderson Silva of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on October 26, 2017. As a result, Silva has been provisionally suspended by USADA. Due to the proximity of Silva’s upcoming scheduled bout at UFC Fight Night, Shanghai, China on November 25, 2017 against Kelvin Gastelum, Silva has been removed from the card and UFC is currently seeking a replacement.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Silva. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.

The substance in question was not identified, but it sounds like Gastelum may need an inhaler.

This is not Silva’s first drug test failure. The Brazilian was suspended for one year after pissing dirty in the wake of UFC 183 back in early 2015, a pay-per-view (PPV) event that also benched Nick Diaz for weed.

Stay tuned for more on this developing story in the coming days, if not hours.