Anderson Silva dismisses Dana White's claims about his UFC exit in blunt Instagram response

Anderson Silva has publicly dismissed Dana White’s recent criticism of his UFC career, responding on Instagram after the UFC president and CEO told Rolling Stone that the Brazilian’s final years with the promotion were troubled both in terms of results and contract negotiations.

Silva, a UFC Hall of Famer and one of the organisation’s most decorated champions, repeatedly referred to White as “the bald guy” in a Portuguese-language response to a post by Canal Punch covering White’s remarks. “The bald guy saying s–t,” Silva wrote. “I’ve been out of the organisation for many years, but it seems neither the current fighters nor the bald guy can forget my achievements. Deep down, the bald guy knows that with me there was no whining, everyone got beaten up and I saved events more than once.”

Silva also took direct aim at White’s arithmetic. White had claimed that Silva lost “eight, nine or 10 [fights] in a row” during his final stretch with the UFC. “And just so you know, the bald guy doesn’t seem to know how to count,” Silva added.

The record supports Silva’s pushback on that specific point. After losing his middleweight title to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in 2013, Silva competed eight more times in MMA under the UFC banner, winning just once. However, he did not leave on a lengthy consecutive losing streak — his final run with the promotion ended on a three-fight skid, not the eight-to-ten White suggested.

White’s Rolling Stone interview covered a range of topics, but his characterisation of Silva’s late career — both the losing record and the alleged difficulty in negotiations — drew the sharpest reaction from the former champion. Silva has been out of the UFC for several years and has since competed in boxing, but the exchange makes clear that his relationship with his former employer remains fractious.