“Vindicated” Anderson Silva will be eligible to return to the Octagon this October

Good news for former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and his legions of fans. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has determined that his failed drug test was due to a contaminated substance. As a result, he’s been handed a one-year suspension, retroactive to October 2017. This means he’ll be eligible to fight again this October.

This news comes from Ariel Helwani of ESPN.

Anderson Silva is going to receive a one-year suspension from USADA dating back to Oct. 2017 after it was deemed his positive drug test was due to contaminated substances, sources confirm. He will be eligible to return in Oct. 2018 and wants to resume his career.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 18, 2018

“Anderson Silva is going to receive a one-year suspension from USADA dating back to Oct 2017 after it was deemed his positive drug test was due to contaminated substances, sources confirm,” Helwani stated in a Tweet. “He will be eligible to return in Oct. 2018 and wants to resume his career.”

Silva and his team also issued a statement to Helwani.

“I am vindicated,” this statement said. “The past nine months have been extremely difficult. I felt like my career and everything I had worked so hard for was dying and my future was hanging in the balance. I knew in my heart that I had done nothing wrong and fully cooperated with USADA during their inquiry to prove it. Today I have a renewed energy. My legacy is restored. I can focus on getting back into the ring and the next chapter of my life after fighting.”

As Silva’s statement implies, he plans on continuing his fighting career. Given that he still remains a huge star, it would not be shocking to see him fighting quite soon after his suspension wraps up in October.

Who do you want to see Anderson Silva fight in his anticipated return to the Octagon?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/18/2018.