Ufc Fighters Named Silva

Chael Sonnen is not rushing to join the growing list of disgruntled former UFC fighters who have issues with retired matchmaker Joe Silva.

Starting with the most obvious. Irishman Conor McGregor is undoubtedly the most. Suspended fighters. The list below is based on fighters suspended either by (1) United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) or World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for violation of taking prohibited substances or non-analytical incidents, (2) by local commissions on misconduct during the fights or at event venues, or (3) by UFC. As of May 16, 2019, a total of 76 UFC fighters have been sanctioned.

In recent days, something of a movement has begun with the hashtag #JoeSilvaStories spreading on Twitter. A number of fighters, from former title challengers Gray Maynard and Jon Fitch, to veteran Brendan Schaub and more, have aired grievances with how Silva conducted business during his roughly 20-year tenure as a UFC executive.

Many of the stories include Silva allegedly being verbally abusive to athletes and implementing cutthroat negotiation tactics. Silva’s job wasn’t merely to pick two names and match them up but also the consistent juggle of keeping the size of the roster manageable through signings and releases, ensuring contracts were honored within the obligated window and scouting the next generation of talent to come through the company. He explained the conditions he worked through in a 2013 interview with MMA Junkie.

Sonnen, who fought under the UFC banner 14 times during Silva’s run as matchmaker, said his interactions were somewhat in line with what others are describing. The difference, however, is Sonnen had a firm understanding of the many layers and complexities that went into Silva’s job.

“He was really good at what he did, and Joe really deserves a lot of compliments for that,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “Some of the stories from the guys that have been coming out are very mean, and they were very mean because somewhere along the way Joe had hurt their feelings, and this was like that payback of sorts. But I don’t know that if you listen to these guys’ stories, and they were largely telling them on social media, you will also probably miss there’s tongue in cheek in some of these stories. There was an appreciation for the attitude and the way in which Joe Silva did things.

“I have my own Joe Silva stories, but they were all positive. Some of them were very similar to the guys whose feelings show. I just got it. I got Joe from the beginning, and I get he was a hard worker with a ton of stuff to do and like anybody, there’s only so many hours in the day. I also understood there was a very big human element to Joe’s job that Joe did not naturally fit. Joe had to become the bearer of bad news. He wanted that job; he put on great matches for all of the fans and viewers.”

Sonnen went on to explain that Silva’s role is largely unenviable. For every dream he makes true by signing a fighter, there’s the opposite side of the coin where it’s his responsibility to crush those same dreams. Sonnen said that Silva had no time to tiptoe around the feelings of each individual while maintaining a roster that grew by hundreds over the course of his career, and that’s why he likely came off as ruthless to so many who dealt with him.

“When you don’t have time to do all the nice and the letdown and the this and the that, you just have to come in and pull Band-Aids off because then you’ve got to move one locker room down and do it two more times before you get across the hallway and do it three more times all before the press conference,” Sonnen said. “There’s so many things, and that job went so fast. He was short in his time, made him get to the point and, sure, it could make it rude. But the bottom line is everything was equal. Yeah, Joe had to give you bad news. But Joe was the guy that called in the first place to make your dreams come true. That gets forgotten over time, and all you remember is the negative interaction.”

No one seems overly interested in doing business with former longtime UFC champion Anderson Silva.

We all know what Silva (34-11 MMA, 17-7 UFC) means to this sport and the legacy he has crafted. It seemed he was going to have a somewhat graceful exit, with the UFC booking him in a main event fight against Uriah Hall in October in what was openly marketed as Silva’s final trip to the octagon.

At 45, Silva has already competed later into life than most in MMA. With one win in his past nine fights, his fourth-round TKO loss to Hall seemed like a rightful stopping point. UFC president Dana White made it clear he no longer wanted to promote Silva’s fights, and he hoped “The Spider” would come to that conclusion, as well.

No dice.

Silva said he wanted to keep going, and as a result the UFC released him from the final bout of his contract, making the Brazilian a free agent.

Names capable of resonating to a broader audience are few and far between in MMA, and Silva is one of them. What an opportunity, right? This is one of the most decorated fighters in history. Which promotion wouldn’t want to pick up Silva and use his legendary name to help build its brand?

Turns out, pretty much all of them.

Bellator president Scott Coker was first out of the gate to show a lack of interest in Silva. It seemed like the perfect fit, as Bellator and Coker have a reputation for signing aging athletes and giving them more favorable matchups in the final stage of their career. Bellator has recently moved in the direction of bringing in younger talent, though, and Silva apparently doesn’t fit the current vision of the company.

“I have a lot of respect for him, he’s one of my favorite fighters of all time,” Coker told MMA Junkie at Bellator 252 this month. “He is one of the greatest fighters in the history of this sport. … He might continue to fight and continue to compete, but I really love our roster, I love the things we’re doing here and I love the direction of the company, and that’s what we’re going to stay focused on.”

PFL, the third biggest promotion in the U.S., took a more stern stance. PFL president Ray Sefo, who also competed in combat sports well into his 40s, advised Silva to retire.

“He’s definitely gonna go down in history as one of the best to ever do it,” Sefo told FightSports.tv. “Nothing but a lot of respect but I just think it’s that time to hang it up.”

If it seemed like Silva’s fortunes would prove better overseas, then that assumption has proved wrong thus far. One of the top players in Asia, ONE Championship, is not keen on vying for his services, either.

“I am a huge Anderson Silva fan. Without a doubt, he is one of the best ever to do it. That being said, athlete safety is our number one priority at ONE Championship. As such, we will not be bidding for his services,” ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong recently told Fightful.com. “I wish Anderson much happiness and success in whatever he chooses to do next.”

With top MMA organizations seemingly agreeing they want no part in allowing Silva to continue fighting, there have got to be other options, right? Even if it was outside of MMA? We’ve seen Bare Knuckle FC swoop in and sign some notable fighters in recent years, and although it’s got a bit of a grungy stigma attached, history shows ethics aren’t the promotion’s top priority.

Yet somehow, Silva isn’t even wanted there.

“At this time we are not interested in Anderson Silva competing for BKFC,” BKFC president David Feldman told BJPenn.com. “He’s a legend and I loved watching him fight. We need to concentrate on building our fighters already signed to BKFC.”

Ufc Fighter Anderson Silva

Yikes.

So, what’s going to happen with Silva now? Not every organization has dismissed him. Combate Americas and Rizin FF are there, but they don’t exactly register as logical fits. Anyone else in the game likely wouldn’t be able to pay Silva what he wants.

And that, ultimately, is what this is likely to come down to. Silva can beat the drum about his continued passion and love for fighting, and how being active in this sport is like his “air.” That’s a nice sentiment, and almost certainly rooted in some truth. However, it’s quite doubtful Silva is going to fight for peanuts, so the options are becoming increasingly limited.

Anderson Silva Ufc Record

Perhaps that’s the only way to convince Silva to move on. And if that’s the case, he’s being done a favor here.