Getty UFC President Dana White gestures as he walks onstage to speak at a campaign event for U.S. President Donald Trump at Xtreme Manufacturing on September 13, 2020.
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva had choice words about UFC president Dana White.
Silva was recently interviewed on MMA Fighting’s podcast “Trocacao Franca” when he ranted about the UFC president.
It started when “The Spider” was asked if he’d like to box former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. The two have a history as they ran their respective UFC divisions for years at the same time, and discussions of a possible superfight between them were always prevalent in the MMA community.
Years later and Silva has transitioned to boxing. He is scheduled to meet former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz during the Triller Fight Club PPV event on Saturday, September 11, 2021.
St-Pierre has expressed interest in boxing as well, however according to the Canadian, he was blocked by White earlier this year from competing against Oscar De La Hoya. Although he’s retired from MMA, “GSP” has an exclusive combat sports contract with the promotion, so the UFC president must give him permission to compete for another company.
Also, GSP could wait for his contract to expire, which he recently said will end in around two years’ time.
During the interview, Silva said that the “almighty” UFC president needs to “stop being annoying” and let GSP box. And if White did, then a Silva vs. GSP fight is possible.
“It’s a possibility,” Silva said of boxing GSP via the outlet. “Georges St-Pierre is a guy that deserves all respect. Not only him, but all fighters. Vitor [Belfort], Tito [Ortiz], [Oscar] De La Hoya — they are legends. And I think it would be an interesting fight, but we need the almighty to stop being annoying and let the guy move on.”
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Silva Continued About ‘Ridiculous’ Move By White
The Spider continued on about the UFC president, calling what White’s move “ridiculous.”
“Nothing coming from Dana surprises me, brother,” Silva said. “I would like [White] to free him [from his contract]. He’s in shape to continue fighting, there’s no reason why you would keep him stuck [there] just for ego. It’s ridiculous. That’s my opinion, it’s ridiculous. Let the guy go.
“He doesn’t want to fight MMA anymore and there’s a possibility he fights two, three, four, five more years in boxing, doing the new normal. He won’t fight a young guy, he’ll fight a De La Hoya, he’ll fight someone that gives him conditions to perform well. But you’ll hold him to a contract after everything he’s done for your company? Doing something like that is ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. You don’t need that.”
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Silva Calls for Fighters to ‘Unite’ to Help Balance the Power of the UFC
It’s time for fighters to “unite” together and to understand their value, according to Silva.
“Myself, Tito, and other athletes that also didn’t keep their heads down ended up having problems,” Silva continued via MMA Fighting. “Dana White is Dana White, he’s the UFC’s main representative. In my opinion, he’s not — the athletes are — but as long as athletes don’t stand [together] the correct way and be afraid of taking a stand, that will continue to happen.
“The new generation has it in their mind that they want to go to the UFC — ‘I want to go to the UFC’ — but they are not united, right? If athletes were united and understood their value in the sport and inside the UFC, that would change [everything] for the next generations.
“But I had great moments in the UFC. I’ve had my battles with Dana, but it’s all clear now. My personal opinion about him is one [thing], and my professional opinion about him is another one.”
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