When former UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva blasted the UFC over how they treated him at the tail end of his illustrious career, nobody was more confused than UFC president Dana White. White, addressing the post-fight press conference at UFC 274, expressed that he had no idea what Silva was talking about.
“Anderson Silva, what the f*** is Anderson Silva talking about?
Dana White Fires Back at Anderson Silva
When have any of you ever heard me talk negative, 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 fight, and always treated him with…
I don’t know where the hell this is coming from, from him that then I started trying to make is so he couldn’t make money after. I said, ‘Jake Paul is looking to fight somebody, fight Anderson Silva, that guy’s out there, he’s available, he’s 47 years old.’ It’s baffling to me.”
Anderson Silva seems to feel that the UFC was pushing him into retirement towards the end of his time with the promotion. Although Silva, in his prime, was one of the most dominant fighters on the planet, and still contends for top spot on many GOAT lists, his waning years in the UFC saw Silva as a shadow of his former self.
Consecutive losses stacked up, until Silva’s final fight, a TKO loss to Uriah Hall. Since then, Anderson Silva has transitioned into professional boxing, applying his fluid, lethal striking to the boxing ring with remarkable results. Silva has yet to lose a fight as a pro boxer.
Dana White insisted that he has not spoken to “The Spider” in a long time, but that he and his family are always welcome at UFC events. “Been a long time.
His son hits me up and wants to come to fights, absolutely. This is his house, if he ever wants… that came out of left field and makes absolutely no sense to me. 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 [against Demian Maia].”
What do you think of the Silva vs White feud? Is it all smoke, or is there more to the story? Let us know in the comments.
