Jose Aldo Says Potential USADA Violation Diminishes Anderson Silva’s Legacy
Former UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo is preparing to face current champion Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 218.
Anderson Silva is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and he has been recently notified by USADA about a potential drug test failure. Aldo says that if everything turns out to be true about the potentially failed drug test, then Silva has diminished his legacy.
“Whether you like it or not, it does diminish it a lot,” Aldo told MMA Junkie. “He’s an idol for us. For those who are in the MMA community, not so much, but for the fans, yes (it hurts his legacy). They have a different view. And he got caught twice. If it were once, we could maybe say something. But twice, it could condemn him to that. It could taint a career that, for me, was one of the best.”
Silva has previously failed a drug test in line with UFC 183, but that was in the pre-USADA testing days.
The former featherweight champion also says that no matter who fails a drug test, their career would be tainted in the end.
“I think this taints someone’s entire career,” Aldo said. “Many fans and reporters, people in the MMA community, they now say Anderson was the champion because he was doping all along. This really taints someone’s career. So I try to take every precaution and do everything the right way. Before starting a camp, I e-mail (the World Anti-Doping Agency) and USADA saying everything I’m going to take and then, when they say it’s OK, we start. I think that’s a precaution that not just me, but every athlete should take.”
UFC 218 takes place on Saturday, December 2 from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan with Max Holloway and Jose Aldo headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
