Thiago Silva's career is back online – at least in theory.
The UFC light heavyweight on Sunday served the final day of his license revocation from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Silva's name is no longer present on a commission registry that tracks fighters with administrative actions against them, and he is now free to reapply in Nevada or elsewhere.
However, Silva (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is required to appear before the commission should he reapply in Nevada, NSAC executive director Keith Kizer today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
"He would need to appear on an agenda for licensure," Kizer wrote via email.
Silva was fined in addition to his license revocation following his admission to the NSAC that he knowingly used steroids and provided a synthetic urine sample in his pre-UFC 125 drug screen.
A unanimous decision win earned against Brandon Vera at the Jan. 1, 2011 event was also overturned to a "no contest."
In March, Silva was served with a formal NSAC complaint after two separate urinalysis samples revealed a substance that was "inconsistent with human urine," which indicated that he "submitted an adulterated and/or substituted specimen for testing for the urinalysis." Silva's first test was flagged, which prompted further testing by the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory, which is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Silva admitted to twice taking a prescription steroid, delivered by a doctor via epidural, on two separate occasions prior to UFC 125.
At an administrative hearing held in Las Vegas one month after the NSAC's complaint, Silva admitted to the commission that he knew the injections were in direct violation of NSAC regulations but said he felt compelled to cheat in order to support his family. He cited a reoccurring back injury as the reason for using the steroid.
"I just want to apologize for what I did," Silva said. "I did what I did because my back was very, very bad a couple months (before the fight). I had not fought for one year. I was completely broke. I have a family. People depend on my money. I was desperate to do something.
"I know what I did is wrong. Like I said, I'm so sorry. I had my reasons. People depend on my money, and I had to give them support."
Silva was fined (and later paid) $13,750 of his $55,000 "show" purse and $20,000 of his $55,000 "win" purse for a total of $33,750. The fighter was unavailable for comment at the time of this writing.
Source: UFC's Thiago Silva serves term of one-year NSAC license revocation