“The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.
That saying exist for a reason and it rings as true today as it did in the 12th century. Anderson Silva’s coach, Luiz Carlos Dorea, may feel that Silva didn’t gain an advantage from these drugs or intend to boost his performance but the fact remains that he cheated and that’s a stain that will never be removed.
“I’m really sad because I know Anderson for years and I know he’s a very respected and straightforward man,” Dorea told Globo Esporte. “Personally, I don’t know what happened. I know Anderson was always a clean guy, very clear. Anderson works hard, he came from humble origins. I don’t know what happened. But I tell you that Anderson would never take that in a dirty way. He would never use anything.”
Dorea then admitted that he knew that Silva was using a banned substance to heal his broken leg.
“We are all really sad. He’s the biggest MMA athlete of all times. He’s a correct man, would never do anything to have an advantage. He’s pure talent, he doesn’t need that,” he said. “I know he was taking some medication, corticoid. I don’t know which substance.
“I don’t believe he was taking medication to have an advantage. Maybe there was a problem with that, if that existed, some corticoid, something that contained a prohibited substance. That’s what I believe.
“That’s not who he is. He’s an athlete that came from humble origins, who loves to train, a really disciplined athlete inside and outside the Octagon. He has a whole team behind him. He would never do anything to damage himself, to destroy everything he built for many years.”
Silva’s legacy is all but gone and for a man considered the best MMA fighter ever as recently as last year, it is truly sad.