Do you honestly think Anderson Silva's success should be attributed to PED use?

[The Natural Born Runner]

I don't know guys, like I'm no steroid expert but something about this just doesn't totally sit right.

The guy had barely any muscle definition comparing to some of the athletes we have in the UFC. The guy was known to get just as tired and inactive as any of his opponents when the fights got into deep water. His skillset was so heavily reliant on intangibles rather than brute strength or athleticism. I just don't see where "steroids" turned Anderson from normal human to superstar fighter.

He didn't have a heavy top game, wrestling style, where you can imagine the extra strength gained by steroid use would come in handy. He wasn't a power striker who threw with 100% power like a Rumble Johnson or a Chuck Liddell. He would literally beat people exclusively with skill and for the most part timing. Do PEDs increase your reaction time and your reflexes? Perhaps... maybe someone could advise?

He wasn't like an EPO guy either who essentially have unlimited stamina after use, you can see that throughout his career. So I just do not see where it really came in that handy?

Do steroids allow you to grab a man's kick in mid-air and smash him with ultimate precision with a counter?

Do steroids allow you to duck every single shot that another man throws your way and then allows you to land a perfectly placed shot to knock him out?

Do steroids allow you to walk against a cage and taunt your opponent to hit you and then empower you to simply step aside and dodge his strike with minimal effort? Moments later you place a knee perfectly in the chest and finish the fight?

I just cannot see how steroids help you sweep Dan Henderson and lock a choke in.

I just don't see how you can be on PEDs yet get dominated for 23 minutes and lock in a submission to win.

Sure, PEDs help, they must do, or else nobody would take them. That said, I think some fighters see the benefits of them a whole lot more than others do. With a style like Khabib's, I can imagine that steroids would help a whole lot (grappling power, unlimited tank etc.). Look at Vitor, he's always been a technical guy, but when you give him that shot of juice the guy's shots were so much faster and more powerful.

Thoughts? and try not to be too much of a bias hater.

 

[Arm Barbarian]

He's been busted, more than once.

We can argue semantics, but he has a permanent * next to his name now, just like Juicedhead Jones.

 

[JayJayFrench]

*Barry Bonds would beg to differ.

 

[Guile]

i have a framed picture of Vitor tasting Silva's foot right next to me. Its a beautiful photo but fuck that juicy slut.

 

[MastiffMike]

PED, as they pertain to mma, is less about the muscle building properties and more about the cardio and recovery benefits. The ability to train more, and recover faster (thus allowing for more training) are huge benefits in combat sports. MMA isn't a strongman competition, nor is it bodybuilding.

Lance Armstrong didn't have big muscles either, but he was a career long PED cheat just like Anderson and Jones.

 

[linvillegorge]

I was willing to give him a pass coming off the broken leg but if you pop three damn times you're a juicer plain and simple. I want to believe he was clean in his prime but at the same time I realize that is being comically naive. He's a cheater proven three times over.

 

[JayJayFrench]

Vitor tasting Silva's foot

Go on. But in a slow, deep voice.

 

[Superzorro]

Of course not. All of his contemporaries were users too, yet none of them compare.

 

[Rittsy]

In situations like these, I go with USADA findings. I’m willing to believe the first time was due to over the counter sex pills, and i’ll await and see what the independent tribunal say about the next thing.

I assume everyone was using pre-USADA testing, either outright juicing or taking special vitamins that would today be banned. Also he never popped during this period, so can’t say for certain if he was using. It’d make sense for a guy who used to be considered the best in the sport who is aging and losing what made him him to start using to try and stay in the game; although it’d also make sense that he always used. Don’t know for certain though.

Doesn’t really matter to me, I don’t consider him the GOAT.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

He's been busted, more than once.

We can argue semantics, but he has a permanent * next to his name now, just like Juicedhead Jones.

I wonder about these USADA tests sometimes.

So he popped for anabolics against Nick, but didn't pop for anything against Bisping, Cormier or Brunson?

Didn't fail any of the tests leading up to the fights with Hall or Gastelum, but then fails an out of competition test?

These guys market themselves as being able to catch 99.9% of cheaters, but the whole thing is a total farce. Yes, it is better than the commission level testing (which is essentially non-existent), but on the whole the testing is a farce. This guy is either a user or he's not a user, the guy didn't take 2 years off and the magically jump back on them.

Sure, he may have been on them the whole time, but I think that just shows how inconsistent USADA's testing is.

Jones passes like 9 tests, but then fails 1. So were all the other 9 false positives?

Pants.

 

[IloveTHIS]

first random test he failed.

hes been using his whole career.

deal with it.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

Yes. 100%.

Only read thread title as TS never has anything of value to say. Just whines about Nick Diaz via bashing GSP.

You new around here? Your account is like a month old lol.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

first random test he failed.

hes been using his whole career.

deal with it.

Like 90% of the sport. Just sweep that under the rug though right?

 

[Moezao]

I was willing to give him a pass coming off the broken leg but if you pop three damn times you're a juicer plain and simple. I want to believe he was clean in his prime but at the same time I realize that is being comically naive. He's a cheater proven three times over.

But wasn't pretty much everyone in his prime also in PEDs.

If he was using it would be pretty much a leveled playing field.

 

[Superzorro]

first random test he failed.

hes been using his whole career.

deal with it.

This thread doesn't dispute whether or not he used.

 

[Oj21]

No lol, everyone acts like it should be...before usada ufc was like the roid era of baseball where it's likely that most guys were on something but only a select few really get caught and get all the flak from fans. Back like 8 years ago I bet most of the top guys in the UFC were juicing, so why only blame a few guys?

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

PED, as they pertain to mma, is less about the muscle building properties and more about the cardio and recovery benefits. The ability to train more, and recover faster (thus allowing for more training) are huge benefits in combat sports. MMA isn't a strongman competition, nor is it bodybuilding.

Lance Armstrong didn't have big muscles either, but he was a career long PED cheat just like Anderson and Jones.

Yeah, but am I right in thinking different PEDs give you different benefits?

Example: EPO is known for increasing stamina, right?

Most anabolics do improve muscle growth, just look at some of the known users. Their physique changes completely.

My entire point is that I cannot see where PEDs helped Silva, unless you can attribute his reaction times being amplified by steroid use. Outside of that, the guy was all technique.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

WTF?



If 90% of fighters failed their first random USADA drug test, there's be 495 suspended fighters.

Obviously you have trouble grasping the facts, but you do you.

Or USADA's testing is nowhere near what it's claimed to be.

Hence why even the cheaters pass like 95% of the tests and only fail one out of the blue.

I reckon fighters have cut usage down for sure, especially with USADA in town. That said, look at how many fighters have been nabbed in the last 2-3 years, countless. I also know that EVERYONE was on roids back when Silva was running riot. Just look at his record, most of them were roiders, but he beat them all.

 

[blackhat]

I'm against steroid use in combat sports, but Anderson is a very special fighter regardless of PEDs.

 

[IloveTHIS]

Like 90% of the sport. Just sweep that under the rug though right?

I'm not going to label every single fighter a juice when they havent been busted. Ill admit theres a HUGE amount that have and got away with it, but the difference is this...

USADA came in, most fighters realized its a new era and stopped the shit. Anderson was determined to keep cheating.

Anderson was an amazing fighter and beat a lot of fellow juicer. Hes still a cheater though and beat the shit out of a lot of guys that werent juicers.