Anderson Silva And Dana White Battle

Anderson Silva And Dana White Battle Over Idea Of Teammates Fighting Each Other

The subject of teammates not fighting each other has been a long standing source of debate among the MMA community. It also is a major annoyance to UFC president Dana White. White would like to not be hamstrung in making potentially huge fights just because guys train together, but many fighters honor that agreement to the end.

The subject came up with middleweight champion Anderson Silva and he had this to say to SporTV (translation via Orcus):

(Dana saying that teammates should fight each other), It's funny to say that, right? If that was the case, I would like to ask him if he'd like to split the UFC with Lorenzo, each would have their own show fighting for audience and sponsorship and everything else that involves their business. They're friends, partners... What I think is that friends shouldn't fight. Dana doesn't fight. He sells well the fight, he's a good promoter, but he isn't a fighter. I have nothing against Dana, I admire him, but he doesn't know what this is, and he can't say that two friends should fight. We spend more time together than with our own families. We share the pains, the frustrations, and just because he wants to sell a fight that he thinks it would be cool and that the public would like to see two companions fighting. He wants to match a fight with two friends? That's impossible, it only happens with people who aren't real friends. We have a philosophy in our team that, regardless of two being from the same weight class and the same objective of being UFC Champions, we know that this won't happen. MMA is not a collective sport. It's not normal for me to fight a guy that I live with everyday. It's natural to him, because he doesn't fight and hasn't even got pinched once.



Dana did respond to Silva's statement, including the idea that he and Lorenzo wouldn't fight:

This isn't baseball or football. They aren't a team. They train together, go out together, but they aren't a team that plays together. I'd like for Anderson to tell me if I'm wrong: he has the belt, the fame, the money, and it is because of that, that there are many guys who'd like to be Anderson Silva, especially those inside his gym and are friends of his. Many friends of his would love to have that belt and they should fight for it. If they have to fight, it doesn't mean that they don't like each other, that they can't be friends. It's business, it's what they do for a living.

If this was something I and Lorenzo would have to fight, we would. If Lorenzo has the title and I'd have to fight him, it's what would happen. It's not personal, it's only to see who's best. Imagine two famous teams in Brazil, such as Flamengo and Corinthians. Imagine if they would refuse to play against each other because they're friends, because they like each other. "We don't want to play you, we'd hurt your feelings." Oh Anderson, come on...

Vitor used to train with him. Did you see what he did to his friend? I guarantee you that the guys that are his friends want to be like him. Your friends want your belt, and they won't pay your bills when you're done fighting, Anderson.
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/3/13/2867776/anderson-silva-dana-white-ufc-teammates

fuck dana, but A Silva need to fight better then the okamis of the world.

Dana White showing that he doesn't understand the true meaning of friendship the selfish bastard.

Longtime Fan wrote:Dana White showing that he doesn't understand the true meaning of friendship the selfish bastard.

Longtime Fan wrote:Dana White showing that he doesn't understand the true meaning of friendship the selfish bastard.

I'm sure he doesn't have any friends, just people he hasn't been able to screw over for his own gain yet. The guy's own mother doesn't like him.

Fighting someone close, like a best friend or family member, with 4 oz gloves breaking orbital bones, head lacerations right down to the skull, or snapping someone's limbs is a little different than a soccer match of football game. As far as violence goes, kicking someone full force in the head is not exactly a friendly game of softball vs one of your best buds either.

K-1 is a bit different than MMA with the pillows gloves no elbows or submissions. When I was younger me and my buddies would put on boxing gloves and go at it. No harm no fowl. Full on street fighting against each other... ya right! Kinda hard to bloody and batter people you 'care' about Dana. What would you know about that?

Longtime Fan wrote:Dana White showing that he doesn't understand the true meaning of friendship the selfish bastard.

Of course, he's a psychopath. Friends mean nothing to him, only money.

Anyway i undertand Anderson's point of view, i'd hate to fight real friends, but the problem is, today all the fighters want to train together, they get many training partners from their weightclass and promotion, things might get hard like that.

This is why I believe there needs to be more teams in mma then there is now.

ZuffaKiller wrote:This is why I believe there needs to be more teams in mma then there is now.

There needs to be more big promotions so the team mates can fight for titles and earn a good living without facing each other.

Johan Lofgren wrote:

ZuffaKiller wrote:This is why I believe there needs to be more teams in mma then there is now.

There needs to be more big promotions so the team mates can fight for titles and earn a good living without facing each other.

This. Competition is good. If orgs have to compete for fighters, their salaries will go up. Unfortunately most of the fighters seem to be as caught up in ufc hype as the fans. They should be building themselves, not a company (primarily, by building yourself and being in an org you will build the org as well). The name ufc shouldn't mean much to people, it's the fighters names that should matter. I have no idea what belts Tyson, Ali, etc had (and I doubt hardly anyone does), but everyone knows their names. It's sad, the fighters hold all of the power in this but they willingly give it up to dana because they don't know any better.

i'd like to see Anderson front kick KO that big headed bald faggot