10 Most Shocking UFC Drug Failures

2. Tim Sylvia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm-J4z9G1v4 Heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia was a stalwart of the UFC's early days. Today, he's something of a shell of his former fighting self (though still petitioning to get back into the UFC), but back in the early 2000s, Sylvia was a big name. He was also a champion stripped of his belt due to PEDs. After winning the UFC title in 2003 against Ricco Rodriguez, Sylvia would go on to defend the belt against Gan McGee that September, winning by first round TKO. However, after the bout, he tested positive for anabolic steroid Stanozolol, and was suspended six months and fined $10,000 by the NSAC on top for forfeiting his belt. Sylvia stated he used the drug to shed weight, but offered no further excuse. One and done, right? Wrong. Sylvia would test positive again in April of 2004, prior to his UFC 47 bout with Andrei Arlovski. The same substance was found, and the test failure was blamed on the fact that the substance had remained in his system from the first test. Sylvia was removed from the card, and would instead face Frank Mir that June in match he would lose. Sylvia would eventually face Arlovski in February 2005 for an interim title shot that he lost, before defeating Arlovski in 2006 in their second meeting and winning the UFC title a second time. At least he made the most of his second chance.