Dana White: I want Anderson Silva to retire

Anderson Silva has perhaps fought for the last time in the UFC octagon, but he has not expressed any desire to retire, per se.

After Silva’s loss to Uriah Hall via fourth round TKO at UFC on ESPN+ 39, UFC president Dana White said in no uncertain terms that he thinks “The Spider” should hang up his gloves. “I made a big mistake and I shouldn’t have let him fight this fight tonight,” said White. “Anderson Silva should never fight again.”

Silva criticized the UFC in the leadup to the fight, suggesting that since the departure of the Fertitta family, the organization has been rather cold.

While Silva does have a fight remaining on his current UFC contract, White says that if Silva wants to continue fighting, it will have to be with another promotion. “He’s a grown man and he can do what he wants … [but] I’ll never let him fight here again. I want him to retire,” said White.

“Unless you’re trying to defend your [expletive] life or save your family, no one at 46 should be fighting.”

Since losing his middleweight belt to Chris Weidman in 2013, Silva has won just once, against Derek Brunson at UFC 208 in 2017. He is 1-7 in his last eight fights; not including his unanimous decision victory over Nick Diaz at UFC 183, which was overturned to a No Contest after Silva tested positive for a banned substance.