Anderson Silva explains why he has no beef with UFC boss Dana White

Anderson Silva has no issues with UFC CEO Dana White.

Silva once ruled the UFC’s middleweight division and was considered to be the best fighter in the world during his prime. “The Spider’s” relationship with White wasn’t always perfect, as the UFC boss criticized Silva’s performances when he felt it was warranted. Silva also had a rather unceremonious exit from the company despite his legendary status.

During a press conference hyping up his boxing match with Tyron Woodley on the Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua card, Silva made it clear that he never took things personal (via MMAJunkie).

“A lot of people talk bad about Dana, but he’s a businessman,” Silva said. “He stayed in the business for many, many years. It’s tough to say something bad or good about Dana because it’s only about business. It’s numbers. Numbers don’t lie. When you don’t make the same numbers, why I keep you here? Dana is Dana. He’s a boss.”

When asked about White dabbling into the world of boxing promotion, “The Spider” said it’s a different beast than MMA.

“I think it’s a different sport,” Silva said. “I don’t like to talk about that because the people think I’m not respecting Dana or disrespecting somebody. But I believe boxing is a different sport, and it’s a very old sport, and a lot of people in this sport need respect. It’s not about how much money you have to put on the best fights together, but tradition and respect.”

Silva’s aforementioned boxing match with Woodley occurred after Chris Weidman was pulled due to an injury. Stick with BJPenn.com on Friday for live coverage and video highlights of Silva vs Woodley, as well as Paul vs Joshua. We’ll also be bringing you all of the post-fight tidbits once the action in Miami has wrapped up.