Anderson Silva ‘disappointed’ with treatment from UFC

Anderson Silva. AP FILE PHOTO

Several high-profile fighters have expressed their discontent with their employer, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in recent weeks, and Anderson Silva has joined in the fray.

The Brazilian legend, who stepped in on two days’ notice to replace the injured Jon Jones in his fight against Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, feels like he did not receive the recognition he deserved from the UFC brass after offering his services to save the monumental card.

“Man, it’s complicated to talk about it,” Silva described his current relationship with the UFC to MMAFighting.

“I didn’t even get a ‘thank you’ from Dana (White) or Lorenzo (Fertitta) after my last fight. I was the one who wanted to fight, of course, I took the fight, but I know what I’m worth, my importance. I was really disappointed with the lack of respect from the UFC towards Brazilian athletes. I’m an athlete who took the sport to another level. I don’t get or ever got the respect from people. That made me really upset, sad and disappointed with the UFC,” he said.

The former Middleweight Champion eventually lost to the much bigger Cormier via unanimous decision, but not before landing a vicious body kick in third round that left the light heavyweight champion grimacing in pain.

Aside from voicing his displeasure, “The Spider” also revealed that he was offered to be a “plan B” in case something happened to Michael Bisping or Dan Henderson, who will battle for the 185 lb. belt on Saturday’s (Sunday in Manila) UFC 204.

“They even offered me to stay in standby in case something happened with Bisping or Henderson,” the former pound-for-pound great said.  “But it’s more absurd how that (offer) came. They didn’t even talk to me. My representatives came as a messenger pigeon. I’m not the type of guy to get messages. After everything I’ve done, I still have to stand by and wait for a fight I won. I found it a little unpleasant.”

Heralded by pundits as the greatest fighter of all time, Silva’s legacy as the most dominant champion of his era still lingers throughout the MMA scene.

He’s hit a rough patch lately, losing 4 of his last 5 bouts and having his win over Nick Diaz overturned due to a failed drug test, but he believes his previous accomplishments should at least be acknowledged by the promotion.

“I will say it again, I’m really disappointed with the way they have treated me, very upset with all that,” he continued.

“I was not the one who said I was the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Dana said that. Maybe he said that to promote the event or because he really thought that. We will never know the truth. The fact is that everything I’ve done, no one else could do. I won’t want to be cocky or arrogant or think I’m the best, but what I’ve tried to do all those years was to show I was different from the others. And that’s not my opinion, but everyone’s.”  Khristian Ibarrola