Dana White Says Anderson Silva Might ‘Be The GOAT Of Combat Sports’

UFC President Dana White has nothing but praise for former middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

On Saturday, Silva scored a first-round knockout over Tito Ortiz in his second boxing appearance since his UFC release. In June, he defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by split decision. And for White, he wasn’t too pleased with Silva facing Ortiz.

Although Dana White thought it was a freakshow fight, he says Silva’s win proved the Brazilian may be the GOAT of combat sports, not just MMA.

“Anderson Silva, we honestly need to start talking again about this guy as the GOAT,” White said after the Contender Series (via MMAFighting). “Not Tito, because he knocked Tito out in 40 f*ckin’ seconds, but he did to Tito exactly what should be done to Tito. Knocking Tito out in 40 seconds is what should’ve happened in that fight. Anderson Silva beat Julio Chavez Jr., at, what, 46? At 46 f*ckin years old, he left this sport where he was considered one of the greatest of all-time, possibly even the greatest of all-time, goes out, beats Chavez Jr. in a boxing match, then goes and knocks Tito out in 40 seconds.

“And, you know how I feel about Tito personally, Tito can’t box,” White continued. “He’s a horrible boxer and that’s why I said I would box him, but the other thing about Tito is when he fought here, Tito had a good chin. Tito took big shots from a lot of guys who hit hard. Anderson Silva knocked him out in 40 seconds. Anderson Silva might actually be the GOAT of combat sports.”

Anderson Silva is considered one of the greatest MMA fighters in history as he defended the UFC middleweight belt 10 times. During his reign as champion, he also moved up to light heavyweight and picked up wins at that weight class as well. With his success in boxing, perhaps he does have a claim to be the GOAT of combat sports, as no one else has had this much success in MMA and boxing.

Do you agree with Dana White that Anderson Silva might be the GOAT of combat sports?