A. Silva is angry with the UFC (Photo: Brandon Magnus/UFC)
Anderson Silva is not happy with the UFC's delay in confirming an opponent for his return fight to Brazil. The irritation is so great that Spider warned him that he might retire if Ultimate doesn't find him an opponent. To make the organization's work easier, the former champion announced that he would accept a duel against Yoel romero, number one in the middleweight rankings, as long as the interim title of the category is at stake.
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“I've been training in Rio de Janeiro for a while, I started my camp and I'm very frustrated. The UFC is giving me fight options, I respect the Yoel romero, is number one in the ranking. I said I'll fight Romero, but for the interim belt. It's a big deal for the UFC. Why not this fight in Brazil? I don't know what's going on, but I'm very disappointed. Yoel doesn't come to Brazil for nothing, he's first in the rankings. It wouldn't make sense for us to fight for anything. I spoke to Yoel's team, who have the same thought. Yoel says he will fight in Rio for the interim belt, I spoke to my manager that I would accept, but nothing is happening”, said Anderson, in an interview with the North American program “The MMA Hour”.
If the fight doesn't happen, Spider confirmed that he is thinking about retiring. Anderson dreams of returning to fight in Brazil, after almost five years away – his last fight in the country was at UFC 153, in October 2012. The idea of Ultimate taking him out of UFC 212 angered the former champion.
"I'll stop. I've been fighting for a long time, I'm tired. I was disrespected, I have a history, a legacy. I'm frustrated because it's the second time I'm fighting in my country. I went to fight in London and in different countries. Nothing happens now. I wasted my time, my money, my energy. When fans talk to me about the fight in Rio, I say I don't know what's going on. I talk to Ed Soares, who is my manager, and he says: “They (UFC) are talking about you not fighting in Brazil anymore”. I wasted time with my family… What the f*** is going on? They are not respecting my history in sport, nor my legacy. I’m tired”, said Spider.
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