A wrist injury caused Wanderlei Silva to run from drug test

When Chael Sonnen appeared on UFC Tonight and claimed that Wanderlei Silva fled his gym after a representative from the Nevada Athletic Commission attempted to conduct a blood and urine test, most people in MMA assumed his tale was an exaggeration created to make his nemesis look bad.

Apparently that isn't the case.

Silva appeared in front of the NAC Tuesday, and the man sent to collect his fluids verified Sonnen's telling of the story, saying that Silva bolted when he tried to get the samples.

"[Silva] walked back to the front counter," the collector said (via MMAFighting). "And then walked past the office towards the back of the gym, and then went around the corner to the right. I casually followed behind him. When I turned around the corner, I realized there was an exit there and a bathroom. I didn't see him anywhere."

Silva never spoke a word during the hearing, while his lawyer Ross Goodman explained that the former PRIDE middleweight champion was on diuretics and anti-inflammatory medication in an attempt to combat a wrist injury (diuretics are often used as a masking agent). 

"I want to say, first and foremost, that Wanderlei Silva has been fighting for 20 years, has over 50 professional fights, and has never failed a drug test," Goodman said.

"He was taking diuretics for the sole purpose of minimizing the inflammation, to decrease the water retention. He now realized that he should have submitted to the drug test. He was surprised. It was the first time in his career where something like this (happened), out of competition, somebody showed up at his gym. That doesn't negate or minimize what Mr. Silva did. He's here to apologize to the commission, and he was concerned that the diuretics would show up on his sample."

Silva is expected to be handed a full 12-month suspension at a hearing later this year.

[H/T BloodyElbow]