Unsurprisingly, UFC president Dana White doesn’t think that Anderson Silva is going to get 50 percent of the company just to face Jon Jones.
Anderson Silva created quite a bit of media buzz from a recent interview with TATAME, when he claimed this reward for committing to a superfight with Jones.
For comparison’s sake, White currently owns a nine percent stake in the Zuffa empire that controls both the UFC and Strikeforce, while brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta own 40.5 percent each. Sheik Tahnoon of Abu Dhabi (Flash Entertainment) owns the remaining 10 percent.
White recently gave his thoughts on Silva’s asking price, summing up his reaction for a fan on Twitter:
@danawhite so Anderson wants 50% of the UFC, doesn’t that seem too far fetched, unrealistic?
— Cory (@eyesdeep02) November 6, 2012
@eyesdeep02 yup
— Dana White (@danawhite) November 6, 2012
White has guaranteed that a superfight between his middleweight and light heavyweight champions “will absolutely happen” before Silva retires, but both men have been reluctant to give any sort of concrete verbal agreement.
A match between Silva and Jones would be a rare event in the MMA world, as both athletes are widely considered the pound-for-pound top two fighters in the world.
Silva currently has nothing scheduled on his calendar after defeating Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro. Bonnar later tested positive for anabolic steroids, which led to a one-year suspension from the promotion, despite statements from White that Bonnar is effectively retired.
Jones is currently busy filming The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) as a competing coach against Chael Sonnen, who will challenge Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title on April 27 in New Jersey. Season 17 of TUF will air this coming January on FX.
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