Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender Luke Rockhold expressed frustration over the support Anderson Silva has gained in the past several months after failing drug tests.

Silva tested positive for Drostanolone and Androstane before and after his victory against Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January, which was his first fight since sustaining a gruesome leg injury during his rematch with middleweight champion Chris Weidman in December 2013.

UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis previously said that he does not believe Silva intentionally took performance enhancing drugs to gain advantage, while Lyoto Machida called his compatriot a victim because he is convinced the former middleweight kingpin will not knowingly take banned substances.

Reacting on the support Silva has been getting from his fellow mixed martial artists, Rockhold said that a cheater should be treated a cheater no matter how big of a star he is or even if Silva did not show any signs of cheating before and during his fight against Diaz.

"Everybody looks at it different because he doesn't have the physique that shows off like Vitor [Belfort] and a lot of other guys have a lot more size to them," Rockhold told Fox Sports. "I think people just didn't want to believe because they looked up to him for so long. A cheater's a cheater in my book."

Silva was supposed to appear in a hearing with the Nevada State Athletic Commission this month, but the meeting was pushed back to May. Rockhold said that Silva should be punished for his actions even if he is considered as one of the biggest mixed martial arts stars.

"Anderson Silva has his hearing coming up and everyone is talking about it differently because it's Anderson Silva," Rockhold added. "Everyone should be treated the same. It shouldn't matter if you're Anderson or any other fighter."

Rockhold, who will face Machida at UFC on Fox event on April 18 in Newark, also praised UFC for their response to the growing number of doping cases. UFC announced earlier this year that a fighter could be banned for up to four years if he fails a drug test even for first offense.

"Are you going to take steroids if you know you're going to get suspended for four years?" Rockhold said of UFC's new drug policy. "I think a lot of guys are going to rethink their situation."

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