Anderson Silva of Brazil prepares to fight Jared Cannonier of USA in their middleweight bout during the UFC 237 event at Jeunesse Arena on May 11, 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)
Former UFC middleweight champion, and MMA legend Anderson Silva shares his views on UFC’s treatment of their fighters and his familiarity with the situation
One of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, Anderson Silva left the sport in 2020, after losing three fights in a row, and quickly transitioned to boxing. Silva is widely regarded as a pioneer of the sport having held the middleweight title for nearly seven years, amassing 10 title defenses, and accumulating numerous records and accolades inside the promotion.
While the talks of fighter pay dispute are now out in the open, more so than ever, the ‘Spider’ weighed in on the debate and provided his two cents. “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 sh*t about me,” Silva told. “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. 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.”
“That’s the problem for the people in this sport, especially UFC because UFC doesn’t respect the legacy that fighters have,” Silva said. “They try to use you and kick you out. And when you’re out, they try to destroy your career [so] you don’t fight anywhere. This happened [to] a lot of fighters. People don’t think about that. I had a good time in UFC, and bad times too. The bad time for me is the experience I have behind the scenes. But inside the cage, inside the fight, I do my best. It’s the only time I have control. Outside I don’t have control.”
Speaking about the pay disparity, Silva said, “In my fight in Mexico, I made more money than my last three fights in MMA. I don’t like to talk about the bad, and people say, ‘Oh now you’re out of UFC and you talk bad sh*t about [them]’. It was good for me sometimes and it was good for UFC too. It’s done it’s over. But it’s important I say that, everything I say about the situation because this is what happened to me.”
In the wake of the ongoing feud between Jake Paul and Michael Bisping, former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier suggested that Jake Paul should be calling out another middleweight champion and MMA legend Anderson Silva. He propounded that Silva has been on a similar path ever since he made his switch to professional boxing, and has looked impressive since then.
Cormier addressed the situation on his Youtube channel by saying, “You want an older guy to fight? Hey, there’s a former UFC champion that is doing exactly what you’re doing. His name’s Anderson Silva. That’s who you should be fighting, Jake. That’s who you should be calling out, because guess what, he still fits the mold. Former UFC champ. Amateur boxer because he’s only fought, I don’t know, five boxing fights just like you. He’s your size and he’s up there in age so it still fits the mold.
“You should be calling out Anderson, not Michael Bisping. That’s the fight. That’s the fight. Not only does that fight fit the mold of what you’re doing, that fight actually gives us some idea of what this thing is that you’re trying to do or portray.”
Silva, 47, recently made an exultant return to boxing, following a legendary run with the UFC where he defend his middleweight title 10 consecutive times. Silva stepped into the boxing ring in June 2021 to fight Mexico Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
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