Silva’s antics leave White seething
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White typically enters the cage and places the belt around the waist of the champion following title fights.
He was nowhere to be seen after Anderson Silva’s successful, but bizarre, middleweight title defense in Saturday’s main event of UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
White grew so frustrated with Silva’s antics, which ranged from dancing, to running, to taunting and mocking the clearly-overmatched Demian Maia for nearly the entire five rounds that he tossed the belt to Silva’s manager Ed Soares after the fourth round and told him to give it to the champion, instead.
“I gave the belt to Ed and said, ‘You put it on him. I’m not doing it,’ ” White said.
White had not calmed down by the time the post-fight news conference began.
“I’ll answer the questions about what a disgrace the main event was and what an embarrassment it is,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more embarrassed in 10 years of being in this business. It’s the first time I’ve ever walked out of a main event.”
White vowed to atone for the way Silva wronged the fans with the performance.
“I apologize, and I don’t know how yet, but I will make this up to the fans who bought this (expletive) tonight.”
For his part, Silva says he felt disrespected by Maia, though he didn’t elaborate. He landed shots basically at will, though his will to do so dwindled dramatically as the fight went on before he won the unanimous decision.
White believes there is a better way to prove a point to an inferior opponent.
“I think this guy is incredibly talented, and in the first couple of rounds, he was showboating and doing whatever he was doing, and that’s not what I’m in to. I don’t like it,” White said. “If you’re that talented, be Mike Tyson. Go in and finish it in two minutes.”
n FRANKLIN REPLACES ORTIZ — The UFC and everyone involved with “The Ultimate Fighter” have worked hard to squash rumors that Tito Ortiz left the filming of the reality show and would not fight Chuck Liddell at the end of the season.
But tickets to UFC 115 in Vancouver go on sale today, essentially forcing the organization to announce the fight card that was expected to include the Liddell-Ortiz matchup in the main event on June 12.
Liddell will be fighting Rich Franklin in a matchup of former champions well past their primes, all but confirming that Ortiz was forced to leave the reality show unknown reasons.
The UFC 115 card will also include a heavyweight matchup between Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Pat Barry.
Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago will meet in a battle of welterweight contenders and Las Vegan Tyson Griffin will face Evan Dunham.
World Extreme Cagefighting also will be going to Canada, but the location for its June 20 card has been changed.
WEC 49 was announced for Calgary, but the organization announced the event will instead be held in Edmonton.
n STRIKEFORCE ON CBS — Former UFC star Dan Henderson is ready to make his Strikeforce debut in the main event of a card on CBS on Saturday night.
Henderson, who will fight Jake Shields for the middleweight title, said the attraction of fighting on CBS helped make the decision to sign with the organization.
Henderson became a free agent after a knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in July.
The card, which also features a lightweight title bout between Gilbert Melendez and Shinya Aoki and a light heavyweight championship fight between Gegard Mousasi and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, will air tape-delayed on CBS (Channel 8) at 9 p.m.
.Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.
