UFC
After yearlong suspension, UFC on Fuel 2's Thiago Silva grateful for main event slot
Apr 13, 2012 - 3:15:58 PM After yearlong suspension, UFC on Fuel 2's Thiago Silva grateful for main event slot

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Thiago Silva fights on Saturday for the first time since January of 2011, his first bout since serving a one-year suspension for providing a false urine sample to the NSAC. Now, with a year of training and reflection behind him, he's ready to get back on track in the UFC's light heavyweight division.

"It's been a hard time, but I used the time off to take care of my body and take care of my injuries and recover," he said this week in an interview with MMAjunkie.com. "I'm much better right now because I'm 100 percent healthy. And that's the most important thing."

"I've very excited. I haven't fought for one year, and right now, I'm back in a main event. I'm very grateful. It means a lot to me and especially because of this. Like I said, after one year, I come back into a main event."

After the humiliation of the failed test and the year out of action, Silva now hopes to build back up, not for the fans and not for the UFC, but for himself.

"I think I'm a tough guy," he said. "I'm trying to get my [standing] back. I don't want to be stupid and say I'm top 10 or this or that. I can't judge myself, so I'm here to do my job and prove myself again."

"But I think it's more for me than the fans. I want to be the best fighter in the world. It's personal."

Penick's Analysis: Silva lost a lot of goodwill with fans because of admitting to steroid use for a back injury, but he's served his time and now he hopes to shoot back up the ladder. A win over Alexander Gustafsson would be huge when he's been out of sight and out of mind for a year, but it's certainly no easy task. This will be a huge fight for him, and I'm very interested to see how he looks after 16 months out of action.

[Thiago Silva art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]