Those reports are premature, according to Evans' management. And yet, as of Wednesday afternoon there are still questions surrounding Silva's ability to participate in the bout.
Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer told MMA Fighting that Silva was among the fifteen athletes drug-tested at UFC 125 in Las Vegas on January 1, and is the only one who has yet to be cleared.
While this has fueled speculation that Silva may have failed his drug test and been preemptively pulled from the card by the UFC in anticipation of a forthcoming suspension, Kizer would say only that Silva's sample was "still processing" and they had no timetable as to when they might have a definitive result to announce.
As Silva's management told MMA Fighting on Wednesday afternoon, "All we know is that it's still processing. We haven't gotten any positive. We haven't gotten any negative. At this point we have no reason to expect that it's going to be anything but a negative result – negative meaning Thiago's clear."
Silva's representatives added that they had not been contacted by the UFC about removing Silva from the UFC 130 lineup, and to the best of their knowledge the fight with Jackson is still on for May 28 in Las Vegas.
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