Steroids can be used for other purposes aside from performance enhancing reasons. While Lombard and Chael were obviously using them to build strength and muscle. I honestly feel Anderson used them simply for the healing of his leg.
Chael talks about the vision test. He says andersons physique never changed. Thus, he concluded he has been on steroids his whole life. However, he missed the plausible conclusion that the steroids were not used to build muscle. Rather, to heal.
Stephan Bonnar.
“I was desperate. My right elbow had been bad for a while, and I hurt it bad getting ready for Rashad [Evans on June 28]. Right after that fight, I thought I’d have some time off to do some therapy, rehab and heal. And five days later, I get a call to fight Forrest in a month and a half. I was worried. I was looking for something to speed up the healing. I just was worried I was not going to be able to fight, and they needed me. This wasn’t an undercard fight; it was the main event. Pulling out was not an option.”
Kit Cope
“I got a complete reconstruction of the AC joint in my shoulder which sucks a lot. After that the doctor a shot a substance called Boldenone and that is an anabolic substance…What that does is basically, in athletes, doctors will give them those substances which increases protein faster and help me heal faster. It was definitely not for performance… This stuff can stay in your system for 18 months, very similar to Nandrolone, which a lot of people test positive for…I only scored a 7 and it’s detectable at 5, so in a few days, a few pisses, it would have been gone. Below 5 it is not findable. It’s not that the substance is not in your body but they test for the trash it leaves behind…so it wasn’t active in my body just the shit it left. Which proves it was very old. So every bit of common sense shows I was not taking it for a performance enhancer.”
Dennis Hallman.
“I took steroids to help my neck injury heal after I had a discectomy on my C-5, 6 and 7. I wasn’t taking them to get huge or strong, just to heal faster. I honestly think that taking steroids is counter-productive for MMA, they do not improve how you punch or how good you are at subs. They actually hurt your cardio which is the biggest factor in MMA. That being said, I made the decision to take steroids, even though I believe that in my circumstance they should be allowed (for healing injuries)… Looking back, it was a good thing getting suspended. It showed me that I didn’t have to fight every time a fight came up. I had fought unprepared and unhealthy many times in my career. The year break showed me that there will be other fights. It kinda made me grow up a little as a fighter.”
Bill Mahood.
“I did in fact start the use of an anabolic agent approximately the third week in August. This was at a time that I thought I was done fighting and was suffering from a chronic joint inflammation of my hip. I did not want to miss the opportunity of fighting for a great promoter like Strikeforce…I do believe that there was no benefit from the amount ingested. I still tested positive and for that I would like to apologize to Strikeforce, Bodog Fight, and the sport of MMA in general.”
Hermes Franca: “I would like to apologize to my fans, the UFC, my students and family. I offer only an explanation and not an excuse. I made a decision during a difficult time in my training for the fight that I regret. About 8 weeks out from the fight, I badly injured my ankle during a training session. For the following week I had rested it, rehabbed it and tried to work around the injury. It was obvious that I could not train as required.
I contacted the UFC and explained my injury and how I could not possibly train to the level I thought I would need in order to be properly prepared for my fight. I asked the UFC if we could push the fight out to the following UFC with the chance that it could happen. They explained that they could not do that and that the card had been set and it isn’t as easy as just moving around a fight. I totally understood their position. They asked me to keep them informed should I not be able to fight…
I had not fought for 5 months. Fighting is literally how I put food on my wife and child’s table and how I pay my bills. As a fighter though, even at this level, I live a simple life and I literally live from fight to fight. Not getting a paycheck for another few months and losing my chance to fight Sean for the title was overpowering. Fighting is the life I chose and I love it…
At this point, I was desperate and needed anything I could to get my injury as close to healing as possible and be able to recover from the daily training regimen I was going through. I made the shortsighted choice to hopefully accelerate the healing process and allow me to keep training. Under the pressure of literally not being able to pay next month’s bills I made a choice. I had to fight and did whatever I could to do so.
I hope my fans, students, the UFC and the public accept my sincere apology. Whatever punishment is dictated by the California Athletic Commission, I will understand. I would like to get through this very difficult time and the times ahead and get back to fighting. All the best to my fans and much thanks to my family and friends that continue to support me during these times.” 
I agree that Chael was just talking out his fucking ass about Anderson's pysique. Chael is a nice guy (sometimes when not bashing an entire nation and heritige), funny guy too, Charismatic. Knowlegable and intelligent. But that statement was ridiculous. Perhaps miscommunicated?
Anyhow - Anderson got busted. I hope you are right. But for me his past exploits are not tarnished anyway because there is zero proof of past abuse. If some comes to light then I'll reassess
If you need more time to heal then take more time. Don't fight yet. Simple as that. 
Sub
Real reason 100%?
To improved his performance.
camozzi - If you need more time to heal then take more time. Don't fight yet. Simple as that.Did you read the quotes? Read the quotes.
camozzi - If you need more time to heal then take more time. Don't fight yet. Simple as that.
While I agree with you, you know better than anyone that your window of profitability as a fighter is very limited. It's difficult to make a comfortable living in MMA, by the time most get to the big stage they have a lot of miles on them and the clock is ticking. When you only get paid when you fight, any delay in your training is food taken off the table. I'm not excusing Anderson's use, and I am disappointed in the effect this has on his legacy, but I agree with OP that it's completely understandable how such a decision would take place. And just about every fighter than Anderson has beaten has popped positive at some point, so why wouldn't he say to himself "I hurt. . . I take juice. . . it make better. . . ees normal."?
Bad examples. Bonnar has popped more than once. Ain't Hermes in prison? I understand your thought process OP but don't be naive. Most top fighters have used/are using, even our favorites like Silva. Come to think of it, most of the Silvas have been caught. An injury is a reason to use but not an excuse imo. There are also other reasons to use. Everybody has choices.
I feel more that those are excuses to take them rather than reasons to take them.
austinjames427 -Did you read what he said..??camozzi - If you need more time to heal then take more time. Don't fight yet. Simple as that.Did you read the quotes? Read the quotes.
For these guys not making Anderson Silva money I get it, but "he needed it to heal faster" doesn't apply to the Spider.
lol just like all steroids are not used for the same reasons not all steroids have the same benefits. What Anderson was on can not be argued to be beneficial to his healing progress. He was cheating plain and simple.
Those steroids actually would be a determent to his healing process.
I doubt any fighter enters the cage at 100% - they all have an endless list of injuries that are never able to fully heal with their training schedule. Most of your examples were guys who financially had no choice but to fight. By all accounts, Silva could afford to miss the payday. And the fight could have been delayed or cancelled - just look at all of the decimated cards over the last few years. Neither excuse works. He took steroids, that is the only "100%" certainty.
TheEmperorRises -austinjames427 -Did you read what he said..??camozzi - If you need more time to heal then take more time. Don't fight yet. Simple as that.Did you read the quotes? Read the quotes.
For these guys not making Anderson Silva money I get it, but "he needed it to heal faster" doesn't apply to the Spider.
Anderson is older than damn near everyone in the UFC, time is a huge factor when it comes to his career.
I dont condone what he did, but your statement makes no sense.
The injury excuse is smoke and mirrors in order to draw some sympathy to their situation. The guys that are using are not using to cut weight, to enhance their healing from injury, or because their supplements were accidently tainted. They're using for the performance enhancing benefits of endurance, strength, speed, and recovery (muscle recovery from training.)
Who are all these orthopaedic surgeons shooting guys full of equipoise for a joint injury? Some steroids have a reputation for aiding recovery but it's not medically recognised as a legitimate treatment unless you have a hormone deficiency or something like cancer or AIDS.
Jimmy Wrassler -So then retire.TheEmperorRises -austinjames427 -Did you read what he said..??camozzi - If you need more time to heal then take more time. Don't fight yet. Simple as that.Did you read the quotes? Read the quotes.
For these guys not making Anderson Silva money I get it, but "he needed it to heal faster" doesn't apply to the Spider.
Anderson is older than damn near everyone in the UFC, time is a huge factor when it comes to his career.
I dont condone what he did, but your statement makes no sense.
He has nothing else to prove.
Except the steroids he popped for, aren't typical steroids you would use to heal an injury. The guy hit his prime in his mid to late 30s, it's now obvious why. This was the first time he was randomly tested outside of competition. There have been many people with experience with steroids, that have said he most likely did not use these steroids for recovery.
Ok OP, let's entertain the notion he juiced for healing purposes. Even though that argument has already been proven to have no merit. Why did he give an interview three months before he was busted trashing other fighters who use steroids? Why did he say anyone caught using them should be "banned for life" when he was almost surely injecting himself with steroids at the time of the interview?
Jimmy Wrassler -His statement makes plenty of sense.TheEmperorRises -austinjames427 -Did you read what he said..??camozzi - If you need more time to heal then take more time. Don't fight yet. Simple as that.Did you read the quotes? Read the quotes.
For these guys not making Anderson Silva money I get it, but "he needed it to heal faster" doesn't apply to the Spider.
Anderson is older than damn near everyone in the UFC, time is a huge factor when it comes to his career.
I dont condone what he did, but your statement makes no sense.
After his horrific injury Anderson had earned millions, more than most of us will earn in many lifetimes. Plus he would be a celebrity and have the ability to make more money, or be an ambassador to the sport.
If he wanted to fight again and it took him 2 years legally instead of 1 illegally, he had plenty of space. He wasn't in desperate need.
What you are referring to is cheating out of greed. It wasn't a necessity for him to take steroids and return pronto. Nobody even expected him back so soon.
You're post makes no sense.
The real reason he was using was because he was cheating. 200%