Anderson Silva’s coach believes tainted supplement caused USADA failed test
Anderson Silva was removed from the UFC Shanghai main event bout with Kelvin Gastelum on Nov. 25 after failing an out-of-competition USADA drug test, and his team believes it was due to a tainted supplement.
Silva's conditioning coach Rogerio Camoes went on Brazilian TV show Revista Combate on Tuesday, and discussed “The Spider's" latest drug test failure.
“I'm with Anderson for many years and the first thing he said was, ‘Master, I didn’t take anything,’" Camoes said. "I trust his word because Anderson is very mature and experienced, he has the conscience not to take anything that would compromise being suspended or taint his image.
"We believe in some contamination in some supplement,” he continued. "Every product he used, supplements, will be analyzed so we can prove there was a contamination. It’s a slow process, it’s not overnight, and it requires time and money. It’s very expensive."
According to Camoes, Silva and his team became aware of the positive test through the media, and it was a “really complicated, really tense” day for them. “It was a shock,” Camoes said.
The conditioning coach knows that many people blame him for Silva’s drug test failures, but guarantees he would never put the former UFC middleweight champion in those situations.
“Many people point at me as the responsible for this,” Camoes said. “People who know me for a long time and know my work know that I’d be the last person to do this, especially because I know from A to Z about anabolic steroids. I was a bodybuilder.
“The first antidoping test I did was in 1987 at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center, when I was competing internationally in judo. I was tested for 10 years, and I know from A to Z, so I would be the last person to give someone something that would make them fail a doping test. Only if I was crazy or dumb. I would be the last person to stimulate Anderson to do something like that. It’s the opposite, I’m the one worried about it."
Camoes admits he does testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) because “my goal is to be in shape at 60 years old" and "I have to do it, it’s my responsibility,” but would never encourage someone to do it.
It still is up in the air what the future holds for“The Spider”, but Camoes is confident that the Brazilian icon will come back to fighting one day — even if he gets a longer suspension, since this is not his first offense.
“I believe he will (come back),” Camoes said. “In life, when someone is taken away from you, that’s when you want it the most. The thing he wants the most is fighting. I believe he will come back to fighting.
“Before all that happened, I remember saying to (boxing coach Luiz Carlos) Dorea, ‘This guy will fight for more three or four years. This guy will fight until he’s 45, 46 years old.’ He was like a young kid, so happy. Everything will be cleared.
"There will be a penalty, or course, we know the USADA rules, and even with a contamination, it’s the athlete's responsibility what he takes and you have to be careful with that. We’re waiting for something to know which path we will go after all this."