UFC News, Rumors 2015: Anderson Silva, Nick Diaz Fail Drug Tests, UFC Comes Under Scrutiny

In a stunning development that could have widespread ramifications for the mixed martial arts community, both Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz recently failed drug tests administered to them.

Silva failed the test administered to him on Jan. 9 while Diaz tested positive during a post fight test on Jan. 31. Last month, Jon Jones also tested positive for cocaine in out of competition testing and subsequently entered rehab.

Silva competed against Diaz on Jan. 31. The fight was allowed to go ahead as Diaz's test results had not arrived by the time the bout was held. U.F.C. officials said they became aware of Silva testing positive for anabolic steroids only on Feb. 3.

The out of completion test that Silva took on Jan. 9 was conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and it came back positive for the steroid drostanolone. As for Diaz, he tested positive for marijuana metabolites.

Commenting on the test results, the chairman of the Nevada sports body Francisco Aguilar told news outlets that as far as Diaz was concerned, the amount of metabolites present in his body at the time of the test exceeded the allowed limit of150 ng/ML.

U.F.C. officials said they would be conducting additional testing to confirm the preliminary positive results returned for Silva even as they voiced disappointment at his positive test results.

Silva fought Diaz after a layoff of nearly 13 months. He was tested thrice, first on Jan. 9 then on Jan. 19 and finally on Jan. 31.

As for Diaz, he tested positive for THC, an active marijuana ingredient, at least twice before and was suspended in 2007 and 2012. He had also admitted that he uses medical marijuana for his attention deficit disorder.

Following the positive test results, it is widely expected that Silva and Diaz will be suspended.

However, after the test results were publicized, Silva denied that he had taken any performance-enhancing drugs, saying he is "an advocate for a clean sport."