White: You can’t run from a drug test

Once a week UFC president Dana White sits down with Matt Parrino for The Download, a UFC.com exclusive where White responds to the biggest news in the sport. The first topic covered today was of course the lifetime suspension Wanderlei Silva received from the Nevada Athletic Commission for avoiding a PED test, and then avoiding the meeting at which his punishment was to be decided.

Wand initially said the test avoidance was due to a language issue, and later at an earlier NAC meeting said he had been taking prohibited diuretics to help with a wrist injury. He then reported that he had tested himself, was clean, and would be ready to fight in two months.

At the time White said that a fight in two months was not likely.

“I’m not the athletic commission, but I think he’s very wrong,” said White. “I think he’s in big trouble. You can not run away from a test. You can’t do it, and it sets a very bad precedent. He would have been better off taking the test and testing positive than running from the test. But I’m not a commission member. Maybe I’m wrong and he’s right. We’ll see what happens.”

What happened next was Silva and his attorney Ross Goodman filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, arguing that the NAC had no jurisdiction when the attempt was made to administer the drug test. The commission disagreed, and required the fighter to appear at Tuesday’s hearing. Silva promptly retired, posting a bitter video.

White wonders if the video was meant to serve as a distraction.

I think he was trying to put up a smoke screen,” said White. “Look over here because he does it a few days before he’s about to go in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The guy ran from a drug test. … I’ve been saying it for a long time that he was going to get something serious.

White did not anticipate how serious it was.

I didn’t see a lifetime ban coming,” said White. “But probably the worst thing you can do is run from a drug test. You can’t run from a drug test.”

I’ve never said a bad thing about Wanderlei Silva in my life. I’ve always respected the guy and there is no way that guy can ever say that myself or Lorenzo Fertitta ever disrespected him. There’s nothing more that needs to be said.

White expanded on the remarks in an interview with Damon Martin for FOX Sports.

“Lorenzo was just saying this morning — every f—ing time you and I have ever seen Wanderlei Silva in our life he’s over the top ‘you guys are the best, you’ve built this sport, I don’t know where any of us would be if it wasn’t for you’. Nothing but positive things to say. Then now he’s in this situation and he’s trying to build a smoke screen,” said White. “I don’t blame him. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing if I was in his position. It’s part of this business.

“Nobody has ever run from a drug test before. I didn’t see a lifetime ban coming. Nobody will let him fight. He’s in a very serious situation, but Wanderlei’s at the end of his career. He was going to fight one more fight and retire. It’s not like this is some 22 year old kid. He said ‘I got one more fight boss, one more big fight’ and he was done. He also told me he thought we were the greatest guys in the world and we helped build the sport so maybe he didn’t mean that either.”