Dana White: I Will Drop Anderson Silva From UFC
Dana White has officially threatened to drop Anderson Silva from the UFC if he has another performance like last Saturday. Silva, widely regarded as the pound for pound best MMA athlete in the sport, fought a bizarre 5 round championship bout with Demian Maia taking a unanimous decision but turning the entire arena and UFC management against him with his antics.
Silva showboated for the first two rounds putting on an awesome display of striking while mocking his severely outclassed opponent. He dropped Maia on several occasions with precision punching and devastating kicks and even managed to land a flying knee from 5 feet away. Then strangely, Silva stopped pressing the action in the 3rd and began to run around the ring without throwing any punches. As the bout wore on, Silva simply stopped fighting altogether and was content to evade his opponents take down attempts and swat away punches from a distance. Dana White apparently walked out of the arena after the 4th round and the referee threatened to deduct a point from Silva for not engaging in the fight. The fans began to cheer for Maia, who was doing his best to make a fight of it, and loudly booed Silva as he pranced around the ring.
White refused to put Silva’s belt around his waist after the bout and told the media and the fans that the fight was ‘the worst thing I’ve ever seen’. Silva showed little regret at the post fight press conference stating that he didn’t feel a need to apologize for his performance and that some fights don’t go down the way people expect them to.
That apparently did not sit well with Dana.
The UFC has built its business on showcasing great fights. White has never been concerned with creating undefeated champions and milking them for as much as they are worth (the current boxing model), and has repeatedly catered to his fans by putting the best up against the best and the most exciting fighters up against each other. For Silva to behave like this was not only unprofessional, but immensely stupid. Make no mistake, the man is probably the most talented fighter to have ever graced the sport and his vast arsenal of weapons is completely unprecedented (have you ever seen anyone knocked out with a rising elbow?). But to refuse to engage with an opponent for the best part of two and a half rounds in a headline event is just completely inexcusable. People pay to see Silva fight, not dance, and while anyone entering the ring should be given a huge amount of respect, they shouldn’t feel too good about taking people’s money and not bringing their all.
Silva will apparently face Chael Sonnen next, a dangerous striker and a very tough individual. Should Silva do anything remotely similar to last time, his career as a top rate attraction will be officially over. Without the UFC, MMA athletes struggle to make a decent living and Silva will be no different. And he’ll only have himself to blame.
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[...] Dana White: I Will Drop Anderson Silva From UFC (trueslant.com) [...]
Maia could’ve done more. He should’ve thrown some of those 5th round combos when Anderson was lunging in front of him. Why was he so afraid? I know he’s a jiu jitsu guy but he didn’t even try to set up the takedown, just constantly flopping to the ground trying to pull guard. Chael Sonnen said that if he were to fight Anderson, and Anderson was taunting like that, he would eat the counter punches coming in if thats what it took to get a takedown or press the fight. Maia should’ve been willing to do the same. So while I agree Anderson shouldn’t have been running around and showboating, Maia should’ve put an end to that nonsense right away.
Anderson has become difficult for Dana to manage. He knows he’s the star of the show. From my point of view, he acts like a man who is bored with his job. Anderson is at the top of the heap. How do you punish him? Keep him out of the octagon for a long time? What Anderson wants doesn’t seem to be lining up with what Dana expects. Big time mismatch. It’s been awhile since I’ve enjoyed watching Anderson Silva fight.
Bored or not, you have to give it your all. Nevada Athletic Commission, or whatever it is called, has this rule on the books, this is not a ufc rule but a rule to even get licensed to fight in nevada:
NRS 467.110 Suspension, revocation and other disciplining of contestant and other participants; grounds for refusal to issue license.
1. The Commission may suspend or revoke the license of, otherwise discipline, or take any combination of such actions against any contestant, promoter, ring official or other participant who, in the judgment of the Commission:
(a) Enters into a contract for a contest or exhibition of unarmed combat in bad faith;
(B) Participates in any sham or fake contest or exhibition of unarmed combat;
© Participates in a contest or exhibition of unarmed combat pursuant to a collusive understanding or agreement in which the contestant competes in or terminates the contest or exhibition in a manner that is not based upon honest competition or the honest exhibition of the skill of the contestant;
(d) Is guilty of a failure to give his or her best efforts, a failure to compete honestly or a failure to give an honest exhibition of his or her skills in a contest or exhibition of unarmed combat;
(e) Is guilty of an act or conduct that is detrimental to a contest or exhibition of unarmed combat, including, but not limited to, any foul or unsportsmanlike conduct in connection with a contest or exhibition of unarmed combat; or
(f) Fails to comply with any limitation, restriction or condition placed on his or her license.
2. The Commission may refuse to issue a license to an applicant who has committed any of the acts described in subsection 1.
[5:40:1941; 1931 NCL § 905.04]—(NRS A 1985, 941; 1993, 1451; 1997, 1345; 1999, 1235)
I think (d) is the most important one, and one that has been rumored to keep Silva from getting licensed to fight in Nevada, where the ufc is based out of, for quite some time. I hope they come down hard on him and I hope that he gets cut quick if he does it again. Dana White has made no secret that he wants his fighters to engage and put on a good show, and the only reason Silva has gotten as much latitude as he has thus far is his extreme talent. His performance was disgraceful, even outside of the lame taunting, although to me it was just laughable. I’m not opposed to taunting your opponent to take them out of their game, but at least don’t make yourself look like an idiot doing it with that chicken walk and seizure shake.
In response to another comment. See in context »So I’m with Dana, cut him quick if he continues to not produce what we have come to expect from the ufc product. If you just want to remain an undefeated champ take a hike to one of the many small mma companies where the talent is even less sufficient.