Bruno Silva faces the music

Former M-1 Global defending champion Bruno Silva is surrounded by questions, and he understands why.

“Blindado” will return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship stage for the first time since his six-month suspension when he takes on Ismail Naurdiev at UFC 308 this Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was the second time Silva was suspended for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

“It was a sad time where I thought my career was over, but the UFC stood by me,” he told Sherdog.com. “You understood my situation. I communicate everything: what supplements I take, where I can be found and what medications I take. During my time in the UFC I have never had a problem in this regard. The new doping commission was very kind to me. They even stated that they would not blame me for the (previous) case. They said they believed in me this time, but unfortunately they couldn't find any contamination in my supplements. They didn't think it made sense to suspend me for a year or more.

“I fought on March 30,” Silva added. “The test back then was negative. Then on April 11, a test came back positive, and on April 30, another test was negative again. They stated that I had no intention of getting any additional benefit from it during the fight. They gave me three months, but since I had already been caught once, it was doubled. The nightmare is solved.”

Back in the UFC after the promotion decided not to re-sign him in 2020, Naurdiev wants to test Silva on multiple fronts. The former Brave Combat Federation champion has 18 finishes among his 23 professional victories – twelve by knockout or technical knockout and six by submission.

“He’s another champion I’ll fight,” Silva said. “I have played against former champions from M-1, Brave, the UFC and Bellator. I have a lot of experience in this. Ismail is battle-hardened. He enjoys slaughter, but has a limited number of repetitive strikes. It should be a tough fight.”

Silva remains committed to the Brazilian TKO camp in Curitiba, Brazil, where he continues to develop his all-around skills.

“It’s a great team,” he said. “I've been here for 10 years. I continue to do the same work. Lately my biggest obstacle has been my mindset. I started competing more. This year I competed in three Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. I had a boxing match against a teammate. I worked on different aspects. I am a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and want to show more of it, not only to myself but also to my team. I’ve been working on this for years.”

Silva, now 35, has not stepped foot in the cage since suffering a controversial technical decision loss to former middleweight champion Chris Weidman at UFC on ESPN 54 in March.

“There was a complete lack of respect,” he said. “I put four fingers to my eyes. All along he did it on purpose. He wasn't even given a warning and his final blow was to hit him in the eye with one finger at a time, followed by punches. We have submitted an application to the sports commission to change the result. After two months nothing had happened. Their conclusion was that we were wrong and Weidman was right. The loss remained on my record.”

About seven months after his unfortunate encounter with Weidman, Silva hopes to turn the tide, return to the winner's circle and end the worst three-fight losing streak of his career.

“We know that’s how MMA works,” he said. “Sometimes you’re at the top, and sometimes you’re at the bottom. It's the life we ​​lead, but I work hard every day. I worked hard when I won and I still work hard after I lost. Now it's time to win again and show my worth. I failed a doping test. I have three defeats behind me. Still, the UFC believes in me. I want to pay them back and show my value.”