Bisping ‘blown away’ by Silva’s ‘arrogance’ over own PEDs use
FILE—British Michael Bisping waits for the moment for the fight against Brazilian Vitor Belfort during the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at Ibirapuera gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on January 20, 2013. AFP PHOTO/Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP / YASUYOSHI CHIBA
Michael Bisping, Anderson Silva’s next opponent, couldn’t help but lose “a lot” of respect for the former UFC champion over his performance-enhancing drug use.
In a conference call with the media as posted by MMAFighting.com, Bisping said Silva “should be ashamed of himself” for being a mixed martial artist despite taking PEDs.
“We’re all chasing a dream. All fighters have a dream, a dream of being the champion. You gotta do it through hard work and determination. The fact of the matter is Anderson Silva tested positive for not one, not two, but three banned substances inside his body.
“While I respect him as a fighter, I’ve gotta say, I lost a lot of respect for him for that. This fight represents me beating all of these people that want to cheat the system. I’ve never taken performance enhancing drugs in my life. Anybody that does should be ashamed. To call yourself a martial artist and to take performance-enhancing drugs is the biggest contradiction you could ever make. And to be honest, Anderson should be ashamed of himself.”
READ: Anderson Silva set for UFC return in London
Silva will be making his return to the Octagon at UFC 183 vs Bisping on Feb. 27 at O2 in London, more than a year since his year-long ban for failing three drug tests after his win against Nick Diaz on January last year. The Brazilian fighter tested positive for three banned substances, specifically drostanolone, temazepam, and oxazepam, with the last two, Silva claims, helping him against his anxiety and sleeping problems.
Bisping said he wants Anderson to be tested several times during the lead up to their fight owing to his history.
“I feel this should be talked about more. I want to be tested throughout this camp. Come and take my blood right now. You can get me to pee in a cup every day of this fight camp and I hope that happens. I hope Anderson is tested many times because he should be tested many times because he failed a test, not once, not twice, but three times.”
READ: Returning Anderson Silva insists: ‘My conscience is clear’
Though the Brit has expressed his unwillingness to square off against fighters whose careers have been tainted by PED use, Bisping is willing to give Silva a pass for a reason—because he is Anderson Silva.
“I did say to myself, I’m sick of this. I’m over it. I’m over fighting all these people that have an unfair advantage in their recovery, in their training. I really am sick of it. I thought, If anybody has a history with performance-enhancing drugs, then I’m not going to fight them. There’s plenty of other people. But then when I started hearing the rumors about the Anderson Silva fight, I started to think, ‘Would I take it or wouldn’t I?,” he said. “I’ve gotta say, regardless of what happened, he’s still Anderson. It is certainly someone I always wanted to face. So, for that reason, I’m willing to forgo that. We will meet in February.”
Longing for a title fight like this one against Anderson, Bisping remains very excited about the upcoming fight which will be aired on Fight Pass, the UFC’s digital subscription service, only.
READ: Silva admits to ‘therapeutic’ PED usage—report
“Obviously, Anderson is a legend of the sport. He was the long-time middleweight champion. This is a guy I’ve wanted to fight for a long time. Of course, I wanted to fight him when he was the champion, but this really, for me, is the biggest fight outside of a world title fight right now. Anderson is still a massive name. He’s still a huge draw and I have a lot of respect for him as a fighter,” he said. “I always wanted to test myself against him. I knew I could beat him. For me, I’m very, very excited about this fight. When Dana (White) called me and said the opponent had changed from Gegard (Mousasi) to Anderson, I was thrilled. I always wanted to show the world that I could beat Anderson and I know I can. I get to do that in February.”
Bisping also said he is blown away by the Brazilian fighter’s arrogance over such sensitive issue such as drug use in the sports.
“It is something I am quite emotional about because it blows my mind,” he said. “To be quite frank, I’m blown away by his arrogance. How on earth do you expect me not to mention that in your last fight, you tested positive for three banned substances? You expect me to not mention that? That is very, very relevant. So, of course, I want him to be tested and you can test me. But the fact that he wants me to not mention that, brush that under the carpet, to be quite frank, I’m blown away by his arrogance.”
