Dana White has found himself embroiled in many feuds over the years with fighters in his organization for a variety of reasons. But the UFC CEO’s dispute with UFC GOAT Anderson Silva turned so ugly over his retirement fight against Uriah Hall in 2020 that the former middleweight champion still refuses to speak to White to this day.

“One more paycheck, let me get one more paycheck. I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s time for them to hang it up.’ They get mad, and they get upset,” Dana White said in a RollingStone interview. “Some of these guys never talked to me again. I mean, Anderson Silva was always a unique individual to deal with, but he lost like eight or nine or 10 in a row, something like that. That guy won’t talk to me to this day because I said, ‘It’s over.’ Yeah, and he was in his forties. His thing was, ‘Who are you to tell me that I’m done doing what I love to do?’

“Yeah, I mean, it’s over. It’s over. Obviously, they could go fight, and he did. He went and fought a boxing match, and he fought a bunch of other fights. He can still fight. Sure. You just can’t do it here.”

While it’s true that the Brazilian has cemented his name in the sport as one of the greatest with 10 successful middleweight title defenses, a steep downfall had begun to overshadow the later stage of his UFC career. Anderson Silva lost to Uriah Hall via 4th-round knockout in their October 2020 fight. This marked his seventh loss in nine fights.

After yet another devastating loss, that too at the age of 45, White believed he had seen enough of Silva and addressed the media. Regretting his decision to allow the Brazilian to take the fight, the UFC boss announced that the former champion’s journey with the promotion had come to an end.  

Following this, the rift between White and Silva became all too evident. The former middleweight champion took to Instagram and announced his retirement. However, it is worth noting that Silva reportedly still had one fight left on his UFC contract at the time White publicly declared his run with the promotion was over. In that sense, the UFC effectively fired one of its most celebrated champions.

While he has since fought and won multiple fights outside the promotion, even years after that dispute, Anderson Silva has remained critical of Dana White and has also been one of the more vocal critics of the 56-year-old entering the boxing world with Zuffa Boxing. The Brazilian legend warned that it could be “very bad” if White attempts to monopolize boxing the same way he did MMA.

Now, Anderson Silva is definitely not the only fighter who has had a bad falling out with White.

Tito Ortiz took shots at Dana White over the UFC White House invitation   

When it comes to a proper feud, Dana White and Tito Ortiz have been locked in a long-running battle. The UFC CEO managed Ortiz during his early days, but once the former light heavyweight champion rose through the UFC ranks, multiple contractual disputes and disagreements gradually soured their relationship.

Though Ortiz attempted to mend the fractured bond, it seemingly remains beyond repair to this day. As a former UFC light heavyweight champion, the Californian expected White would invite him to the promotion’s Freedom 250 event taking place on June 14. However, Ortiz claimed he never received an invitation from the UFC, and he blamed White for it.

“If you’re on Dana’s good side, you don’t have to pay for anything. And I get it. He said, ‘If you want to be a good friend, I’m a good friend. But if you want to be an enemy, I’m good at that also.’ I’m the first one to actually tell you he’s 100% correct. Don’t get on his bad side. But it’s childish. I mean, to me, it’s just petty. It’s really petty. I’ve done so much for that company.”

With fighters like Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz, it is evident that Dana White has never been one to back down when it comes to disputes with former fighters, regardless of their contributions to the company.