White: Underpaid? Wand made $9,700,000 in UFC
Dana White: “You know how much money Wanderlei Silva has made since he’s been with the UFC? $9,700,000… What does Wanderlei considers rich?”
On Sept. 19, All-time great Wanderlei Silva retired, via a bitter video posted on his YouTube channel. Silva charged that the UFC tried to turn fans against him, underpays fighters, forces fighters to take fights when they don’t feel they are ready, and more.
Several days later Silva was suspended “indefinitely” by the Nevada Athletic Commission, which has been widely interpreted as meaning for life.
In an interview with Combate after the UFC 178 weigh ins, UFC president Dana White offered a rebuttal.
“You know how much money Wanderlei Silva has made since he’s been with the UFC? $9,700,000,” said White as transcribed by Guilherme Cruz for MMAFighting.
“So Silva says everybody’s getting rich except the fighters. What does Wanderlei considers rich? $9.7 million isn’t rich? A lot of people would consider that rich. Let me tell you what – Wanderlei Silva has fought six times in the last five years. He’s fought six times in five years. If being overworked is fighting one time a year, I don’t know what to tell you.
“And I think his strategy right now is brilliant. If Wanderlei Silva was standing here, not me, and you’re interviewing him, he would go crazy about ‘I hate the UFC, these guys don’t pay us, I’ve given them my body and they don’t pay.’”
White also charged that Silva avoided a fight with Chael Sonnen by feigning injury, even as he was calling out Sonnen on social networks.
“When we offered him the fight, he said he was hurt,” saod White. “We sent him to a doctor two different times, and the doctor said ‘this man is not hurt. There’s nothing wrong with him.'”
There have been questions as to whether the UFC will release Silva from his current contract, now that he has declared his retirement, and has been suspended by the NAC “indefinitely” which is being widely interpreted as being for life.
Silva is rumored to have an offer to pro wrestle in Japan vs. Sakuraba, resurrecting an old and real rivalry.
“He’s under contract. His contract is frozen,” said White. “It doesn’t matter. His contract doesn’t matter. He has been banned from the athletic commission. He’s appealing it, and he needs to go through the legal process. This thing is gonna play out. You know, I never had anything bad to say about Wanderlei, I still don’t have anything bad to say about Wanderlei, but he could have not have handled this situation any worse than he has.
“Drug tests are in place for the safety of all the fighters. Not only did he run from the drug test, I kept calling him and he didn’t return any of my calls, any of my texts, and he didn’t return anybody else’s phone calls and texts. This man disappeared from the face of the Earth for days.”
Wanderlei Silva, 38, started fighting 18 years ago. When he arrived in the UFC seven years ago, he was probably already past his prime. Wand, who once went 18 fights without a loss, went 4-5 in the UFC:
March 2013 • Brian Stann • Win
June 2012 • Rich Franklin • Loss
November 2011 • Cung Le • Win
July 2011 • Chris Leben • Loss
Feb 2010 • Michael Bisping • Win
June 2009 • Rich Franklin • Loss
Dec 2008 • Quinton Jackson • Loss
May 2008• Keith Jardine • Win
Dec 2007 • Chuck Liddell • Loss
Win or lose Wanderlei Silva continued to thrill his fans, which at one point numbered every single person in the sport except Hidehiko Yoshida’s mom. It is a tragedy that so beloved a fighter, who fought so well and so bravely for so long has seen his career close with such controversy.
