On a recent appearance of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, Anderson Silva clearly stated that if the UFC wouldn’t grant him an interim title bout against Yoel Romero on June 3 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, then he would retire.
This entire situation is the result of Kelvin Gastelum being flagged by the USADA for marijuana metabolites in an out-of-competition drug test. Gastelum was removed from his fight with Silva as a result, but it appears “The Spider” is the one who is being punished here, as he still does not have an opponent for UFC 212.
According to Silva, the UFC has promised him “super fights” with Georges St-Pierre that have yet to happen, plus Silva has lost millions of dollars and stepped in last minute to “save” entire fight cards. The former champ feels he is owed this interim title fight with Romero.
To be fair, Silva said that he has been offered several options. However, the UFC has not offered up the situation he desires. Silva does raise some good points, but the issue that he keeps bringing up is that his fans in Brazil have purchased tickets to see him on the June 3 show.
If he was so concerned for his fans in Brazil that already purchased tickets to see him fight, then why wouldn’t he take one of the other several options given to him?
“The Spider” went on to rant about the GSP super fight that hasn’t happened. Silva seemed particularly bothered by the thought of St-Pierre coming out of retirement after three years, just to get a title shot in a weight class he has never competed in.
Silva also complained about how he lost his Nike contract because the UFC made the Reebok sponsorship deal.
Clearly these issues have been bothering Silva for some time. Through the profanity-laced interview, one thing was made abundantly clear: if Silva doesn’t get Romero on June 3 for the interim title, then the G.O.A.T. will call it a career.
Silva sounded more frustrated than anything else. He just kept repeating, “I’m tired, man, you know, I’m just tired.” This is a case of Silva feeling disrespected and overreacting, but nevertheless, “The Spider” is weaving a dangerous web.