Anderson Silva Loses to Michael Bisping in Controversial Fashion at UFC Fight Night 84

The build toward the fight saw Bisping repeatedly discuss Silva’s failed drug test. Starting at the fight announcement and lingering all the way to the weigh-ins, Bisping called Silva a number of names, said he was a cheater and a fraud, and mocked him ruthlessly. Silva was quiet, but demonstrated an acute lack of awareness of how badly his reputation has been damaged.

For those with short memories, Silva failed two drug tests surrounding his fight with Nick Diaz for a combination of steroids and anti-anxiety meds. When he was called before the Nevada Athletic Commission for a discipline hearing, his defense was that he wasn’t knowingly using steroids, but was simply taking a strange Thai sex drug he got from a friend. That, obviously, was not the best look for the legendary middleweight.

Anybody looking to tear into Silva over this loss and claim it’s a sign that he was only good on the ‘roids went home disappointed, though. Silva had some opportunities to end the fight and actually showed off solid cardio in a five-round battle. It wasn’t the best performance of his career, but he still almost knocked out one of the best middleweights in the sport today.