Anderson Silva: Light Heavyweight MMA Fighter Says He Is ‘Disappointed’ With How UFC Has Treated Him

Looks like Anderson Silva is the latest MMA fighter to express his displeasure for the UFC. Recent reports now say that “The Spider” is “disappointed” with how the most-popular MMA promotion in the world today is treating him.

According to a written article by MMA Fighting, Anderson Silva made his “disappointment” with UFC known during an interview with Brazilian news outlet UOL. Silva’s woes actually began back on July 9 during UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes. That night, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier was almost taken off the fight card when Jon Jones was removed from their fight after failing a drug test popping for estrogen blockers two days earlier. Fortunately for Cormier, Silva stepped up to replace Jones.

Given the fact he only had two days to train before his fight against Daniel Cormier, Anderson Silva was technically unprepared to take on the fight. It showed during all three rounds of the fight in which Silva was slow, sluggish, and unable to keep up with Cormier. It was not “The Spider” many MMA fighters have come to know and love watching perform in the MMA cage. In the end, Silva lost via unanimous decision.

Though Anderson Silva lost that night, he is technically one of the bigger winners simply for taking on a fight at two-days’ notice to help UFC. He probably even deserved more recognition than he got, something he actually believes.

“Man, it’s complicated to talk about it. I didn’t even get a ‘thank you’ from Dana or Lorenzo 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.”

To be fair, Dana White and previous owner Lorenzo Fertitta were probably trying to fill a void left behind when Jon Jones was removed from the card. Anderson Silva just so happened to be the UFC fighter who wanted to step up. In their eyes, however, they probably did not think Silva had what it takes to put on a good fight despite his history. For starters, Silva hasn’t won a fight in over four years. His one lone victory against Nick Diaz was overturned when he popped for illegal substances in his system.

Anderson Silva does say he was the “Plan B” option in case something happened in the Michael Lisping vs. Dan Henderson fight at UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson. Still, Silva is showing great disdain despite being offered the opportunity simply from what seems to be a lack of communication.

“I didn’t talk to them or anyone after my last fight. They even offered me to stay in standby in case something happened with Bisping or Henderson. 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.

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

[Featured Image by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images]