Getty
UFC president Dana White revealed over the weekend that he regrets allowing UFC legend Anderson Silva to fight against Uriah Hall on Saturday night and that he’ll never allow “The Spider” to fight in the UFC again. White revealed that stunning bit of news during the post-fight press conference after Hall stopped Silva in the fourth round in a middleweight main event bout at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
“I’ll never let him fight here [in UFC] again,” White said. “I want him to retire, and what my hope is, when he goes home, his family tells him the same thing.”
Since 2013, Silva has gone 1-7. He was once the company’s most celebrated and dominant champion.
Now, he’ll never fight in the UFC again.
ALL the latest UFC news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on UFC newsletter here!
White Rants About Silva’s Comments to Media
White seems to have taken issue with some of Silva’s pre-fight interviews last week in which he stated the UFC used to feel like a family but no longer did.
“Let me put it to you this way, this week he came out and said in an interview, and I don’t know, I don’t trust half these f***ing guys in the media and how they set up questions and what they say and everything else, but all I can tell you is what I read and I know what I usually read is f***ing bullsh** so let me start here: that it used to be like a family when Lorenzo [Fertitta] was here and all that kind of stuff,” White said.
White continued, “We all miss Lorenzo. I will always admit that Lorenzo was the gentler, kinder side of the UFC, but I’ve done nothing but be good to Anderson Silva.”
Minimally, White appears to have been hurt by some of Silva’s comments. In fact, it seems White took Silva’s comments personally.
“Tonight, I don’t feel good about myself that I let Anderson Silva fight this last fight,” White said. “We’ve treated Anderson with nothing but respect, and if you guys knew what Anderson Silva gets paid to fight, you’d sh** your f***ing pants. I think that we’ve treated him like family. I shouldn’t have let him fight this fight tonight.”
White claimed to know beforehand that he shouldn’t allow Silva to continue his UFC career but did so anyway, presumably out of respect for the 45-year-old ex-champ.
“I made a big mistake,” White said. “I shouldn’t have let him fight this fight tonight but out of respect to him, he’s a legend of this sport and a legend of this company, I did something that I disagreed with.”
White said he couldn’t do anything to keep Silva from competing for another promoter, but that he would never let him fight in the UFC again.
“I knew I was right and tonight proved I was right,” White said. “Anderson Silva should never fight again.”
Follow the Heavy on UFC Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!
Silva’s Statement
Silva issued his own statement via social media after the fight, though he did not address any of White’s comments or concerns.
Instead, Silva thanked his fans. Moreover, Silva did not address his future plans.
Silva posted:
Good morning, my people, today is a very different day for a simple reason, and I wanted to thank you all these years with your cheerleading!
I want to thank the God for granting me the gift of the fight! Thank you my people for all understanding, for all your support and for all your amazing moments that we live in this sport together!
I hope I left it in memory and in the heart of each of you a little of who I am, that you can overcome difficulties, every second of uncertainty and to overcome obstacles in your lives!
Never think about giving up, as hard as things get at some point; know that I leave all my love, all my respect for you!
Force and time always and God bless you all!
Thank you all, bless you, and bless you.
You can see Silva’s post below.
Finally, Silva did talk about White to Heavy last week. Perhaps already knowing some of his comments had gotten under White’s skin a bit, Silva used that time to praise the UFC president.
“A lot of people are asking me about Dana and how much is Dana bad or good,” Silva said. “Let me tell you something, Dana is a good guy. I respect him a lot. I don’t have a problem with Dana.”
After White’s comments over the weekend, the same doesn’t appear true the other way around.
READ NEXT: Dana White Reveals Superfight
Twitter: @Kelsey_McCarson
YouTube: Real Talk with Kelsey and Rachel