The New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) won’t say directly whether Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva will face out-of-competition testing ahead of Bellator’s New York debut.
Sonnen and Silva, who meet in the main event of Bellator 180 on June 24 at Madison Square Garden, are both coming off lengthy doping-related suspensions in Nevada. Silva is actually currently still serving a three-year ban and will be eligible to compete again officially in May.
When asked by MMA Fighting about the NYSAC policy regarding out-of-competition drug testing, New York Department of State spokesperson Laz Benitez said in an e-mail that the commission has the authority and discretion to administer drug testing, but declined to comment when asked specifically about Sonnen and Silva.