UFC president Dana White is confused about former middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s recent comments.
In an interview with Sportsnaut.com, “The Spider” went in on White for “talking a lot of s***” about him. Silva, who holds UFC records for the longest title reign and most 185-pound championship victories, said he feels disrespected by the UFC president and the promotion.
“When I was done in UFC, everybody — especially Dana White — said, ‘Oh, Anderson can’t fight anymore. Nobody in the same age [group] with Anderson can fight, it’s terrible,’ and blah, blah, blah. And talking a lot of s*** about me,” Silva said via the outlet. “And I feel disrespected because it doesn’t matter what happened — fight is fight. You can win, you can lose.
“When you make a success of [MMA], the one thing you need to do for your fighters is [give] respect. In that, I feel no respect. But I don’t care because when I stop fighting, I’m gonna stop fighting because I say I’m gonna stop it,” Silva continued. “Nobody can say for me I [should] stop. No one can say for [anybody] you need to stop now. Nobody. I’ll stop when I say I’m done.”
Silva also stated that the UFC tries to “destroy” a combatant’s career once they’re done in the promotion and that they don’t “respect the legacy that fighters have.”
White Doesn’t Understand ‘What the F*** Anderson Silva Is Talking About’
During the UFC 274 post-fight press conference this weekend, White brought up Silva’s comments. The UFC president expressed his confusion, saying that the only time he’s spoken negatively about the MMA legend was when he and Demian Maia fought in a very lackluster bout in Abu Dhabi at UFC 122 in August 2010.
“Anderson Silva, White said. “What the f*** is Anderson Silva talking about? When have any of you ever heard me talk negatively, except for the fight in Abu Dhabi, about Anderson Silva? Never. I’ve never talked bad about Anderson Silva. Not only that, we let the guy fight through his contract. He lost seven of his last eight, or eight of his last nine fights. Always treated him with… I don’t know where the hell this is coming from.
“From him, that then I started trying to make it so he couldn’t make money after. I said Jake Paul’s looking to fight somebody, fight Anderson Silva. That guy’s out there. He’s available. And he’s 47 years old. It baffles me.”
White was asked about the last time he talked to “The Spider.”
“It’s been a long time,” White answered. “But his son hits me up. He wants to come to fights. Absolutely. This is his house. If he ever wants to… that came out of left field, and makes absolutely no sense to me.”
The UFC president then posed a question to the media members in attendance. “Unless you guys have heard me say something that I don’t remember saying? The only time I ever said anything negative about Anderson Silva was in Abu Dhabi after that fight.”
MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn brought up Silva’s comments about the UFC changing after Lorenzo Fertitta left the company, but White doesn’t see that as “negative.”
White Said ‘Anderson Silva Should Never Fight Again’ After The Spider’s Last Octagon Appearance
Silva last fought under the UFC banner in October 2020 when he drew Uriah Hall. The Spider entered the fight on a two-fight losing streak and had only won one contest since 2012. The match ended in the fourth round after Hall closed the show via TKO.
During the event’s post-fight press conference, White said he “made a mistake” allowing Silva to compete that night.
“I made a big mistake,” White said via CBS Sports. “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. I knew I was right and tonight proved I was right. Anderson Silva should never fight again.”
Silva subsequently parted ways with the promotion and has earned two victories as a boxer since.
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Dana White Responds to Anderson Silva’s ‘Left Field’ Issue With UFC