Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has discussed his time in the promotion.
âThe Spiderâ reigned the UFCâs 185-pound division from 2006 to 2013. After scoring a then-record ten title defenses, he lost the title to Chris Weidman in 2013. Following that loss, it was a bit of a rough skid for Silva.
Following his first loss to Weidman, he went 1-6 (1) inside the octagon. After a loss to Uriah Hall in 2020, he was released from the UFC. After that release, he decided to go into the world of boxing.
The 47-year-old is set to face Bruno Machado next week in Dubai. If he wins, it would put him at a perfect 3-0 since his UFC release, having earned victories over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz. The win over Chavez Jr. saw him earn praise, and apparently more pay than his last few UFC fights combined.
In an interview SportsNaut, Anderson Silva discussed his departure from the UFC. It seems that things didnât end on great terms, as âThe Spiderâ revealed his true thoughts on the promotion where he fought for 14 years.
âThatâs the problem for the people in this sport, especially UFC because UFC doesnât respect the legacy that fighters have. They try to use you and kick you out. And when youâre out, they try to destroy your career [so] you donât fight anywhere. This happened [to] a lot of fighters. People donât 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. Itâs the only time I have control. Outside I donât have control.â
Anderson Silva continued, âIn my fight in Mexico, I made more money than my last three fights in MMA. I donât like to talk about the bad, and people say, âOh now youâre out of UFC and you talk bad sh*t about [them]â. It was good for me sometimes and it was good for UFC too. Itâs done itâs over. But itâs important I say that, everything I say about the situation because this is what happened to me.â
Spider Bytes
One of these guys should get Dana alone and rape him.
that is as disgusting as it is hilarious.
He lost 7 of his last 9 fights. Itâs called fighter safety
Aside from the champions who stop fighting but continued to work for the UFC, has any had only positive things to say about how the UFC has treated them?
So his complaint is that everything was fine for almost 14 years but when he was losing fights and near the end of his career that the UFC wanted to cut ties let him goâŚLIKE THEY HAD BEEN DOING TO EVERYONE FOR THOSE 14 YEARS ANDERSON WAS HAPPY. He enjoyed the money until they paid him less at the end for his last few fights after he stopped winning and wasnât getting championship paydays anymore?
What the fuck is this guy even complaining about? That they made him a millionaire but evenetuallystopped treating him like the greatest after he stopped being the greatest? There is a reason he left mma instead of just joining a new organization but go ahead and turn on the UFC like all the other bitter ex champs who miss being underpaid and held down. 
Also he needed steroids to beat the real 
He owed Nick a fair fight but somehow weed got Nick a longer suspension than literal steroids did for SilvaâŚ
Of course, but negagive articles get way more attention than positive ones. Who is talking to retired fighters that ha e nothing nevative to say when they can jump on the negativity side which is always popular.
Ask Ray Borg about his sonâs hospital bills being paid for by Zufffa. Ask Matt Hughes who helped pay hos bills after the train accident? Ask Bisping about how Dana saved Christmas with 10k for his family. Oh wait. Hes an ex champ who works with the company so this doesnt count according to your setupâŚeven though that story came out before he was retired.
Isnt that the Diablo Diaz guy who came back to the UFC afteryears of retirement and shit talking in order to get paidâŚi mean taken advantage of again? These fighters act like bitter exes. They complain to everyone about how mistreated they are but run back to their âabuserâ when they need help from Sugar Daddy Dana. Just like Nate complained after he signed a new contract where Dana paid off the back taxes that he didnt feel like paying.
I always thought Andy deserved more respect from the UFC. Look at Andersons highlight real. No other fighter has a that many highlight reel finishes over top shelf opponents. Such artistic destruction. Andy was one of a kind man. That run he had was legendary.
If you dont respect Andy, FUCK YOU
More respect? They treated him like a king. Where is this coming from?
Sometimes they did. Other times not so much. They didnt promote him the way they should have. Then, after he shattered his leg, he said he wanted to go box Roy Jones Jr, and they wouldnt let him. They made him stay in the UFC. The guy literally gave a limb for the sport and that wasnt good enough. They wanted to squeeze more out of the guy.
Then, as he aged, instead of having him fight older fighters, they have him fight guys like Cannonier. I mean, i just feel he earned more respect than what he was givin. Andy got me hooked on MMA. His Ko of Tony Frykland is like something you saw in a video game. He was tge first fighter to bend reality and make you question what was actually possible in this sport. Im in awe of that man. I believe he desrved better. Dude stepped up to face DC on like 48 hours notice after Jon Popped. AGAIN!
Sorry for the rant. Andy is my guy. Always will be. Little skinny motherfucker that sounded like Micheal Jackson was puttin it on fools. Before him, you thought the body builder physique was the scariest.
Anderson Silva came changed that. The accuracy, the timing, the speed, reflexes, the setups, the
Fight IQ⌠the finishing prowess. My god I just gave myself an erection. Pardon me boys
I agree that overall it seems t he UFC treats most of its fighters like shit, and we all know the % that goes to fighter pay is super low compared to almost all other fight promotions and sports leagues.
But⌠most careers will end with some bitterness. Just like most coaches are fired, so are fighters. The difference is most coaches shut up as they want to be hired again. He was treated damn well when he was winning, but after all his late losses, what did he expect?
Also promoters and fighters (and artists) will always have conflict by their very nature.
All true. Hell, Dana personally gave ME great tickets, out of the blue. And I sure appreciated that. But they do act like the mafia. The will hand out major perks and bonuses to some, nothing to others, or it will change over time, according to their whims and such. Of course it can piss some people off
They promoted and pushed him the best they could. Peoe want to forget how Anderson fought against being promoted so much that he constantly faked not understanding or speaking english. They WANTED Anderson to be a superstar more than he did.
More of this whining that the UFC wont let fighters break their contract and do whatever they want. How dare the UFC not let their employees work for other promoters and make them money. Lol. Either way, thats a contract issue for all fighters, not a personal issue with Anderson.
He still has his leg. Lol. Im done. Youve got to learn to pace your trolling and slowly get more and more outrarageous in order to string people along. You keep blowing your wad too fast.