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Emotional Anderson Silva insists he’s innocent after failed drug test: ‘Do you think I’m crazy?’

Guilherme Cruz, MMA Fighting

The third episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4, which aired Sunday night in Brazil, showed the reaction from Anderson Silva and his team to the news of his failed drug test.

Silva, who tested positive for two banned substances before a UFC 183 bout with Nick Diaz, had just trained with his fighters when he got a call from one of his manager, Ed Soares, giving him the bad news.

"What? What do you mean? No, no, no, I didn’t take anything. I didn’t take any of this," Silva told Soares. "What I took was a shot of anti-inflammatory. No, man. F*ck. I’m telling you, man."

Silva hung up the phone and gave the news to his conditioning coach Rogerio Camoes.

"They said I failed the doping test," Silva told Camoes.

Silva calls back to his manager and tells him that he used an anti-inflammatory called dexalgen for three days, and told him to contact his wife and get all the information about everything he used before UFC 183.

"I didn’t take it, master," Silva again told Camoes. "Are you crazy? I didn’t take anything. Do you think I’m crazy?"

At first, "The Spider" decided not to inform his team about the failed test. Reginaldo Vieira was training for a bantamweight bout with Matheus Nicolau, a bantamweight from Mauricio Rua’s team. However, Silva was forced to tell them right after the official weigh-ins, as the Nevada Athletic Commission forced the UFC veteran to leave the show.

"So guys, here’s the deal, I just got caught in the doping exam," Silva said. "The commission decided that I have to leave the house and the team. The commission has decided to suspend me during this process. Rodrigo (Nogueira) and Rogerio (Nogueira) will get here today and will replace me. The trainers will continue here. The only thing that will change is that I am leaving."

"You can’t let anything interfere in your dream," he continued. "Stay focused. Remember everything you’ve been through to get here. Don’t let any of this affect you."

Silva was very emotional as he spoke with his protégés, and some of the fighters cried as well. When Silva finished his speech, Rogerio Camoes said the team would continue to honor him.

"For everything you’ve done to this sport, you are our hero," Camoes said. "You’re not leaving. Your spirit will stay with us here. You have nothing to prove. You made history. We will honor your name and our country."

Later that day, UFC president Dana White entered the gym to officially announce the change, and the Nogueira brothers came in.

"We really feel with all this, but I’m sure that you will all do your best to win a contract with the UFC," Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira told the fighters. "We are the best in the world alongside with the Americans. Our team will honor and dedicate every fight to our champion Anderson Silva."

As he left the gym, an emotional Silva said he would stay with his family and take care of his personal projects and gym.

"Everything will be cleared," he said.

The day after Silva left, his team, now coached by the Nogueira brothers, suffered its first loss, as Matheus Nicolau defeated Reginaldo Vieira via unanimous decision after three rounds (29-28 x3).

After picking up his first win, "Shogun" matched a lightweight bout between one of the most experienced lightweights of his team, Nazareno Malegarie, against Andre Ricardo.

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