Silva off UFC Shanghai card after potential doping violation

Anderson Silva has been provisionally suspended by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for a potential violation of the promotion's anti-doping policy, the UFC announced Friday. As a result, he's been removed from UFC Fight Night 122's middleweight main event against Kelvin Gastelum in Shanghai, scheduled for Nov. 25.

The potential violation was discovered via an out-of-competition sample collected on Oct. 26.

The UFC is in the process of finding a replacement for Silva on the card. The former middleweight champ could face a full suspension from the USADA upon further review.

He was suspended one year for PED use by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in 2015 after failing two drug tests, and his unanimous decision win over Nick Diaz at UFC 183 was overturned to a no-contest. It remains to be seen whether the ban will play a role in the severity of any sanctions USADA hands down, as the agency was not the UFC's anti-doping partner at the time.