UFC: Michael Bisping Says He Lost Respect for Anderson Silva
Michael "The Count" Bisping will be facing one of the all-time greats, Anderson "The Spider" Silva, on Feb. 27, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 83 in London, England. Silva is set to make his return from a year-long suspension, but Bisping says he has lost his respect for the former pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.
"We're all chasing a dream of being a champion. You've got to do it through hard work and determination. But Anderson Silva tested positive for not one, not two, but for three banned substances. And while I respect him as a fighter, I lost a lot of respect for him for that," Bisping told the media, per MMA Junkie.
"To call yourself a martial artist and take performance-enhancing drugs is the biggest contradiction you can make. I hope Anderson is tested many times before we fight. He should be tested many times because he failed the test, not once, not twice, but three times," he added.
Bisping has been going back and forth if he was going to fight Silva after rumors of their fight surfacing at the end of September. "The Count" was supposed to face Robert Whittaker at UFC 193, but Bisping withdrew from the bout citing an elbow injury. He was also rumored to face Gegard Mousasi at UFC Fight Night 83 before the Silva fight was announced.
"The Spider" lost his middleweight title in 2013 against Chris Weidman and subsequently lost the rematch after breaking his left fibula and tibia. He had orthopedic surgery to repair the leg and was out of action for more than a year.
He defeated Nick Diaz at UFC 193 in his return bout after the injury, but it was overturned to a no-contest after failing a post-fight drug test for performance enhancing drugs to bring his record to 0-2-1 in his last three matches. He was also suspended for one year by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and was fined $380,000, per MMA Frenzy.
Silva and his camp have claimed that he did not knowingly take the performance enhancing drugs while pointing out the fact that the 40-year-old never failed any previous drug tests in his UFC career. "The Spider" blames a contaminated sexual enhancement drug given by a friend while on a trip in Thailand.
He has always insisted that he is clean and he did not knowingly take performance-enhancing drugs. "I'm ready to be tested anytime. You guys can test me as much as you like," Silva told ESPN.
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