Not good news for the former UFC middleweight champion…
Recently a lot more fighters have been speaking out about poor working conditions in the UFC. Perhaps having something to do with the $4 billion sale of the promotion, athletes are starting to question their salaries.
Among many others, Nate Diaz recently blasted the UFC and president Dana White. Responding with a harsh statement, White essentially said Diaz is worth nothing without Conor McGregor.
Nice, then it was Anderson Silva’s turn.
Silva Frustrated
Former middleweight champ Anderson Silva’s luck has not been the best lately. He was set to face Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 212, until his opponent popped for Marijuana. USADA saw Gastelum’s recent win over Vitor Belfort overturned, and he was removed from the fight with Silva.
In response, Silva demanded an interim title fight, also blasting the UFC for allowing Michael Bisping to fight the unranked Georges St-Pierre next.
Dana White has responded, and its not good news for Silva:
White Tells Anderson Silva To Retire
Speaking via MMAMania.com, UFC president Dana White tells Anderson Silva to retire. Shooting down ‘The Spider’s’ demands, White says Bisping is willing to fight Romero, in a comment that makes little-to no sense.
“Every time I’ve, for the last however many years, deal with Anderson, it’s always interesting,” said White. “[Silva] wants an interim title, obviously we’re not going to do an interim title.
“He’s coming out publicly, and you know my philosophy on that. If you ever say the ‘R’ word, you should probably do it anyway, you know? If you’re ever considering retirement, you should probably do it.”
White reiterated that the promotion “will not do an interim fight” and that it most certainly “will not happen.”
Continued below…
Featuring: Dana White
Where: New York, New York, United States
When: 27 Sep 2016
Credit: Alex Huggan/WENN.com
Not Our Fault
“Bisping’s ready, willing and able to fight the actual No. 1 contender, who is Yoel Romero,” explained White. “Anderson Silva is ranked No. 7 right now. If he’s willing to take the Romero fight for June — because he was supposed to fight Kelvin Gastelum. You know, Anderson’s mad. I didn’t pull Kelvin Gastelum out. Kelvin Gastelum smoked weed, and now he got busted, and you know we’ve done everything we could to make another fight for Anderson.
“So it’s nothing we did.”
Obviously the UFC can run their private company however they’d like, but you can’t help but notice a pattern lately. Unless your surname is Rousey or McGregor, you probably won’t be making the big bucks.
Also, you won’t be calling shots of any kind, and you’ll probably be publicly humiliated if you speak out. Whatever happened to those fighters unions that were meant to change the game?
