Dana White has expressed that he wished he didn’t let Anderson Silva fight at UFC Vegas 12 last night. At the post-event press conference, White said that they had a deal with Silva that this would be his last fight and he won’t let Silva fight in the UFC again.
“He’s got one [fight left on his contract] and we had a deal. When he signed this contract, we had a deal that this would be his last fight,” White said after the event.
“Tonight, I don’t feel good about myself that I let Anderson Silva fight this last fight,” White continued. “We’ve treated Anderson with nothing but respect and if you guys knew what Anderson Silva gets paid to fight, you’d s**t your f***ing pants. I think that we’ve treated him like family. I shouldn’t have let him fight this fight tonight.”
Dana White On Anderson Silva’s Performance Against Uriah Hall
White continued to say that he was not impressed with how Silva looked in the cage against Uriah Hall.
“He fought a guy that has absolutely zero output,” White continued. “They’re in a 5-round main event on ESPN. They threw 11 punches in the f***ing 2nd round. You fight any of these other savages, he’ll be in big trouble and he’ll take a s**t load of punishment. Uriah Hall threw 11 punches in the second round. Uriah Hall’s one of the most gun shy fighters in the UFC.”
“Look at Anderson. When the fight was over, he couldn’t stand to do his interview. He had to sit down to do his interview,” White added (transcriptions via MMA Fighting).
“He’s got one fight left with us. I’ll never let him fight here again. I want him to retire and what my hope is, when he goes home his family tells him the same thing,” White would later add.
In a post-fight interview, however, Silva sounded unsure of whether or not it really was his last fight.
“I don’t know,” Silva said. “First I go back home, and I will see everything with my team, and let’s go see, because it’s tough to say it’s my last, because this is my air, this is what I’ve done for my entire life with my heart. And let’s go see.”
