Emelianenko on Silva's failed drug test: '(It's) a slap in the face to the sport'
One of the greatest mixed martial artists to ever step foot in a ring or cage is disappointed with the recent rash of high-profile performance-enhancing drug (PED) use currently plaguing the sport.
Former PRIDE heavyweight kingpin Fedor Emelianenko spoke with Fansided's Jason Nawara about fellow great Anderson Silva's failed drug test, calling the transgression a "slap in the face to the sport."
It’s extremely upsetting that an athlete of that level actually turned to an aid from drugs to enhance his performance. It’s a slap in the face overall. A slap in the face to the sport and all the fighters in the sport. I also feel that an athlete should depend on their skill set, experience and hard work they put in and not have to look to shorten that distance between hard training and the win by using or depending on steroids or any performance enhancing drug. Most importantly you have to stay true to yourself as well as those fans who made you who you are as an athlete. And now due to the use of steroids, he has this trademark, I feel, as someone who uses performance enhancing drugs to win.
Fedor dominated PRIDE for the better part of a decade, and despite rumors to the contrary, was frequently tested for PEDs during his tenure with the Japanese promotion.
Actually we did get tested for steroids but everyone just assumed that because no one tested positive that there were no steroids. Of course the thought has crossed my mind, and assumptions were made, but it gave me strength to know that my opponent may have had to use something while I put in all of the hard work and long training trying to be a better fighter which is why, with God’s help, I was able to win whether my opponent was on steroids or not.