Anderson Silva Has ‘No Beef’ With Dana White

Former UFC Middleweight Champion and Hall of Famer Anderson Silva says he has no ‘beef’ with UFC CEO Dana White, stating he never took things personally.

Silva’s comments were made in the run-up to his December 19 boxing fight with Tyron Woodley on the Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua undercard. For years, the relationship between White and Silva was not the best. When Silva was released in 2020, he had secured just one win from his last nine fights—a victory against Derek Brunson at UFC 208 in 2017.

Silva Reacts

Silva still had one fight remaining on his contract after the loss to Uriah Hall in 2020, but the UFC decided to release him. In later interviews, Silva voiced concerns that the UFC did not always “respect the legacy that fighters have” and suggested they could pay fighters more. However, through it all, Silva has no bad blood towards White. 

“A lot of people talk bad about Dana, but he’s a businessman. He stayed in the business for many, many years. It’s tough to say something bad or good about Dana because it’s only about business. It’s numbers. Numbers don’t lie. When you don’t make the same numbers, why I keep you here? Dana is Dana. He’s a boss,” Silva said 

The Woodley Fight

Outside of White, Silva is focused on his fight with Woodley. He had to deal with a change of opponent after Chris Weidman withdrew due to injury. Silva will fancy his chances over Woodley due to hi s substantial physical advantage. He stands 5 inches taller at 6’2″ compared to Woodley’s 5’9″.

This height difference is complemented by a 3.5-inch reach advantage, as Silva’s 77.5″ wingspan outstretches Woodley’s 74″. Silva has used this length to control the distance, utilizing jabs and counters to punish smaller opponents who struggle to close the distance. However, Woodley was confident about his chances since they would be fighting at cruiserweight, when he is usually a welterweight fighter.

“Anderson is going to have to cut a little weight – I’ll have a little bit of an advantage there, but I feel like the heart and just being a better fighter is my ultimate advantage in the fight,” Woodley said