Dana White shoots down Anderson Silva vs. Anthony Pettis

UFC president Dana White shot down a potential matchup between former UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva and former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis.

Pettis reached out to Silva on social media this week and requested a matchup against the legend, which the Brazilian accepted. Fans seemed to be excited about the prospect of a potential catchweight fight between two former UFC champions, but that won’t be happening anytime soon as White shot down any notion of this matchup.

Speaking to the media ahead of UFC Fight Night: Eye vs. Calvillo, White said the UFC won’t book Silva vs. Pettis.

“I saw that, that they were going back and forth. Him and Pettis? Yeah no,” White said.

“Guys talk sh*t every day on Twitter and social media.”

The potential matchup between Silva and Pettis seemed like a complete longshot anyways considering both men are far apart in weight. Silva has spent the majority of his UFC career fighting at 185lbs and 205lbs, while Pettis has fought mainly at 155lbs and as low as 145lbs. However, with Pettis fighting at 170lbs the last few years and Silva being open to a catchweight around 178lbs, there was a chance the UFC could book the fight. But clearly White and the matchmakers aren’t a fan of the idea, and the fight is now dead.

As for Silva, he hasn’t fought since last May at UFC 237 when he lost via TKO (leg kicks) to Jared Cannonier. At age 45, Silva is the oldest fighter in the UFC, but he still wants to remain active in 2020 and hopes to return to the Octagon soon. Asked if the UFC has another opponent in mind for Silva, White said they don’t as of right now.

“Not right now, no,” White said.

Who do you think Dana White and the UFC matchmakers should book Anderson Silva and Anthony Pettis to fight against next?