Anderson Silva failed his UFC 183 pre-fight drug test, and one of the best coaches in MMA has some very strong words for the former middleweight champion. Firas Zahabi compared Silva to Lance Armstrong and states that he shouldn’t be among the ‘greatest of all time’ talk anymore.
Armstrong was involved in a PED scandal which had his Tour de France titles stripped, and Zahabi made the connection as he spoke to French-Canadian outlet La Presse (translated by MMA Fighting) about it:
“It’s horrible for the sport. Lance Armstrong has not helped the sport of cycling. A lot of people were inspired by his story and afterwards we find out that it’s a lie. Here, we’re going through something similar in our sport.”
“It’s unbelievable that they let them fight. Me personally, I would like the sport to be cleaned up. Because one day, a guy is going to die in the Octagon and we’re going to find out that the guy who killed him tested positive after the fact. Our sport is already dangerous enough as it is. If we add doping on top of that, it becomes madness.”
While most people have long considered both Silva and Georges St-Pierre as among the two best in the history of the sport, Zahabi says that with the PED failures, Anderson shouldn’t be in that conversation anymore:
“Georges (St-Pierre) is the best pound-for-pound fighter. We have to drop Silva. If he really cheated, we can’t set this example for the youth. It’s ridiculous. Is Lance Armstrong considered the best cyclist of all time? No. A few years ago, the answer would have been different.”
“Georges passed the tests of VADA, the best agency. All his tests are public. We are ready to take them again with random controls 24 hours a day. My athletes are natural and yes Georges is the best fighter of all time.”
About the author
