Dana White will ‘never’ let Anderson Silva fight in the UFC again, wants him to retire
If Anderson Silva does decide to continue fighting, it won’t be for the UFC.
Silva suffered a fourth-round TKO defeat to Uriah Hall in their UFC Vegas 12 middleweight headliner on Saturday. Despite a promising start, Silva was dropped twice en route to getting finished for the second fight in a row.
Regardless of the result, it was a big occasion as it was expected to be Silva’s last outing with the Las Vegas-based promotion. And as far as UFC president Dana White is concerned, he shouldn’t have even allowed the 45-year-old to compete again after seeing his performance against Hall.
“I made a big mistake,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “I shouldn’t have let him fight this fight tonight.
“But out of respect to him — he’s a legend of this sport, he’s a legend of this company — I did something that I disagreed with and I knew I was right and tonight proved I was right and Anderson Silva should never fight again.”
White pointed to how Hall was one of the most gun-shy fighters in the UFC and was still able to drop Silva twice.
Add in the fact that “The Spider” couldn’t even stand for his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping and White believes it’s beyond time for him to retire.
“I’ll never let him fight here again,” White added. “I want him to retire. I hope when he goes home, his family tells him the same thing. … He’s a legend of the company and I don’t want to just sit up here and shit on him but he’s almost 46 years old.
“Unless you’re trying to save your fucking life or defend your family, no 46-year-old should be fighting. Period.”
Silva, however, has continued to leave the door open.
“I don’t know,” Silva said when asked if this was his last-ever fight. “First, I go back home. I see with my team, everything, and let’s go see.
“Because it’s tough to say, ‘it’s my last or not’ because this is my air. This is what I do for my entire life and with my heart. Let’s go see.”
Thank you, @SpiderAnderson. #UFCVegas12 pic.twitter.com/DRZTQgN6zg
— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2020
Combat sports fan who loves a good body shot.