Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Anderson Silva denied that he intentionally took banned substances to gain advantage during his return fight against Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January.

Silva, who defeated Diaz via unanimous decision during his first fight since recovering from the gruesome leg injury he sustained in his rematch with Chris Weidman in December 2013, tested positive for steroids Drostanolone and Androstane in an out-of-competition drug test on Jan. 9.

The Brazilian mixed martial arts tested clean on Jan. 19, but test results on fight night revealed that Silva was also positive of Drostanolone, which created speculation that the former middleweight kingpin tried to cheat against Diaz.

But in an interview with TMZ Sports, Silva said that he was surprised when he heard that he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in a pre-fight examination.

"I am surprised. My manager called me and say Anderson, you have the problem because you go to the test for the commission, it's bad," Silva said. "I don't know what happened."

According to the 39-year-old superstar, his camp has already submitted samples of various supplements he took in training to determine why he tested positive for banned substances.

Luis Carlos Dorea, Silva's boxing coach, also came into his defense, saying that his fighter will not do anything illegal just to get an advantage over his opponent. Like Silva, Dorea also believes the medication the MMA legend took before the fight might have affected his drug test results.

"I know he's a very respected and straightforward man," Dorea said of Silva via MMA Fighting. "Personally, I don't know what happened. I know Anderson was always a clean guy, very clear. Anderson works hard, he came from humble origins. I don't know what happened. But I tell you that Anderson would never take that in a dirty way."

Silva was suspended indefinitely and his return date will be determined after a hearing with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. And once he is allowed to return to the Octagon, Silva said that he is open to a rematch with Diaz to prove that his win at UFC 183 was no fluke.

"When commission say done, I go back to fight. I think have the rematch for Nick," Silva said. "I expect the commission now, when all this done, I go fight Nick for next one."

For the latest sports news, follow Latin Post Sports on Twitter.

FOR MORE MMA AND UFC UPDATES, CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VISIT LATIN POST.COM'S SPORTS PAGE.

Related