Anderson Silva recently spoke out about his treatment by the UFC. In particular, he referenced UFC president Dana White.
Believing the 185-pound division has been held up by a fight between champion Michal Bisping and returning welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, Silva made a demand that the UFC put an interim middleweight title on the line in a fight between himself and No. 1 contender Yoel Romero. He even threatened to quit fighting if it didn’t happen.
White declined to put the fight together.
Silva has yet to follow through on his declaration that he’d quit fighting, but he did respond to “The Almighty” White’s decision to, as he says, continue holding up the division.
In a recent Instagram live video interview, Silva, per a transcription by MMAJunkie.com, blasted White for the way he and the promotion are treating the middleweight fighters.
“From the moment I feel like it’s unfair to me, I don’t have to accept it. And I won’t accept it. Got it? And, to make matters even worse, he – ‘The Almighty’ – does the following: He brings in a guy who came out of retirement, who’s not from the division and gets him to fight for the belt. But how does he take a guy who’s coming out of retirement, who’s not in the division – he’s going to have an excuse for that, OK? I’m warning you – to fight for the belt with a guy who won a fight on the scorecards and lost another one via knockout? With a guy who, allegedly, in his last interview, says he’s ready to fight and didn’t get him to fight with the No. 1 ranked guy, who’s Yoel Romero. The whole thing is bull(expletive). And I can’t keep quiet,” Silva said.
“All of the athletes in the division should speak up. There’s a lockout against the division’s athletes. It’s not that I’m pissy, because I won’t fight for the belt. I had the belt for 10 years. Nothing in this sport is new to me. But, for my business, there’s no reason for me to take a fight with Romero that isn’t for the interim belt. There’s no reason. I’m not an idiot; I’m not stupid. I want people to understand that, that they stop talking crap, because they don’t understand what happens behind the scenes in this sport. Unfortunately, all of athletes in the division are suffering due to this lockout,” he continued.
“I’m 42. Everything has happened to me in this sport. I’ve lost, I’ve failed a doping test, I’ve won, (I was) champion for years. I just want to fight and be happy. But, in order for me to fight with Romero – who’s a tough guy, everyone runs from him. They’re trying to protect Bisping from fighting him. Nothing more fair than me, the man, who allegedly ‘The Almighty’ – I wasn’t the one who said that, it was ‘The Almighty’ – a few years ago said he had the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva.
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“But he, ‘The Almighty,’ has to explain himself to everyone. Now it’s explained. I don’t want people to keep asking me about this. I won’t fight because of this (expletive), which doesn’t happen only to me, but with all fighters in the division – period. ‘The Almighty’ owns the toy. Whoever wants to accept it, accepts it, and those who don’t want to, don’t. I won’t accept it. If I accept this circus, I have five kids, and I can’t go home and say, ‘I backed down.’ I’m a man, and I’ll go all the way. When you’re right, you have to go all the way. I’m sorry if this costs my leaving the UFC, retiring, being sidelined. (If) they want to mess with me, I don’t care. But what I’m doing is the right thing. It’s the right thing for me. It’s my manhood, and no one is changing that,” Silva explained.
“I’m outraged, but I’m happy I’m ending a camp that wasn’t money thrown away. With people I’m always learning with, a lot of cool people. I’m happy, coming home happy. In a way, happier than if I had fought. We managed to make ‘The Almighty’ alert. He’s going to have to put Romero to fight; there are no excuses. He’s the No. 1 ranked, and Bisping said he’s ready to fight. There are no excuses. In a way, I helped a co-worker. This is what we’re supposed to do, not call Dana White names or clash. But Dana shot himself in the foot. I have no problem with him. The problem is when it affects the fighters, who spend months away from home, who make the show happen. It’s not (White). He only sits there, makes fights and watches them. This is (expletive). It has to end.
“I love this, it’s my passion, but I can’t accept this type of (expletive). The UFC is not a sport. It’s an entity. MMA is the sport. The UFC is a brand that broadcasts and makes the MMA fights. One for all, all for one, and victory in war.”
