White refutes Globo report that Cormier vs. Anderson Silva is done deal
UFC president Dana White has refuted a report from Brazil’s Globo that UFC interim light heavyweight will fight former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
When Interim UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has a PED test flagged, and he was removed from the fight Saturday with champion Daniel Cormier, UFC president Dana White said he would find Cormier an opponent.
There’s tons of guys that are interested,” said White on The Herd. “So we’ll get a fight done. … Cormier will fight this weekend.
White said that the new matchup will be announced hopefully later today [Thursday].
White did rule out UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who very, very gamely offered to step up.
First of all, he just won the 185 pound title,” began White. “Let me tell you what Bisping does in his offseason. When Bisping’s not training, he goes on a bender. He’s in no condition to fight Cormier.
Combate, the MMA Internet arm of Brazlian media giant Globo, is reporting that Cormier will be fighting former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
However, a number of figures reached out to White for confirmation, and the report was refuted by the boss.
White via text: Globo is wrong.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 7, 2016
Per @danawhite via text, reports of Silva vs. Cormier not true."
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) July 7, 2016
Just talked to a solid source with Silva's team. Said a potential Cormier-Spider Silva fight is "far from a done deal."
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) July 7, 2016
Further clarification from UFC official: "There is no fight made. We are talking to several fighters."
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) July 7, 2016
One thing is apparent. Silva definitely wants the fight, as indicated by his latest pic on Instagram.
H/T SupesUp