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Even Dana White knows he talks a whole lot of nonsense. The longtime president and current CEO of the UFC has been feuding with the talent going all the way back to his time as an MMA manager. Whether it’s Frank Shamrock, Paul Daley, Roy Nelson, Nate Marquardt or a dozen other notable fighters from the promotion’s past, White is no stranger to animosity.
It’s something of a surprise, then, to see the UFC putting Wanderlei Silva in the Hall of Fame, considering the place ‘The Axe Murderer’ was in when he left the company back in 2013.
Dana White once banned Wanderlei Silva from UFC Hall of Fame
Wanderlei Silva’s inglorious UFC exit came on the heels of one of the most disastrous fight build-ups in MMA history. A season of the Ultimate Fighter, pitting Chael Sonnen against the Brazilian PRIDE legend was meant to lead to a showdown between the two. Then Silva injured his hand fighting with Sonnen during filming. It only got worse from there.
The bout was immediately re-booked, and then scrapped wholesale when Silva refused to submit to NSAC pre-fight drug testing. In an ultimate case of tragic irony, however, Sonnen failed his own pre-fight drug test shortly thereafter—leading to a four year retirement from competition.
As for Silva? He got stuck with a lifetime ban from the NSAC, as well as a $70,000 fine.
“Nobody has ever run from a drug test before. I didn’t see a lifetime ban coming. Nobody will let him fight. He’s in a very serious situation,” Dana White explained in a 2014 interview.
“There’s going to be no Hall of Fame. The guy’s been Pete Rose’d. There’s going to be no Hall of Fame offers.”
Eventually, Silva’s ban was overturned, and he returned to competition for a short, unsuccessful stint with Bellator. But, the rift between Silva and the world’s largest MMA promotion continued to grow. At one point, it got so bad that the former Chute Boxe talent accused the UFC of fight fixing. The threat of a lawsuit forced a swift apology, and seemingly severed the Brazilian’s ties with Zuffa for good.
Dana White forgot about Silva ban
They say time heals all wounds, however. There may be no better evidence of the truth in that turn of phrase than UFC 298, where the promotion announced that Wanderlei Silva would be part of the next UFC Hall of Fame inductee class. Seated cageside for the event, Silva was all smiles to receive the honor.
“I had no idea, it was a huge surprise. It makes me feel really happy,” Silva told ESPN in a backstage interview.
Dana White was feeling pretty good about it too, even when a reported asked him about his past ‘Pete Rose’ comments to the 2003 PRIDE middleweight Grand Prix champion.
“He deserves to be. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,” White told reporters after the most recent PPV event, speaking of Wanderlei Silva. “Back when me and the Fertittas got into this sport, we were huge Wanderlei Silva fans. Everybody that was a hardcore fan back then was a big fan of PRIDE. A lot of big stars came out of there, and Wanderlei has done a lot for the sport in the early days, he deserves to be in there.”
“I’ve been in so many beefs with so many people that I didn’t even remember that until you just told me,” White added, when asked about banning Silva. “It’s a good thing I forgot!”
Silva’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame is expected to take place during International Fight Week 2024, sometime in late June/early July. At the moment, Frankie Edgar is the only other fighter who has been announced for this year’s event.
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