Bellator will not be offering free agent, Anderson Silva a contract, Scott Coker revealed.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, it was revealed Silva was released from his UFC deal<\/a>. The news came weeks after his knockout loss to Uriah Hall where Dana White made it clear he would not fight inside the Octagon again<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, Silva still had one fight left on his contract so technically the UFC had to offer him one more. So, instead of doing that, they released him.<\/p>\n Immediately when the news broke, many figured Bellator would sign the former UFC champion. The promotion has been known to sign aging UFC<\/a> legends but they have recently started to sign top prospects and Coker says they are not interested in bringing in Silva.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a tremendous amount of respect for Anderson Silva, one of my favorite fighters & one of the greatest of all time, but I\u2019m happy with our roster & the direction Bellator is heading,” Coker said to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.<\/p>\n Coker followed that up with his own tweet saying the direction they are referring to was the main event of Bellator 253 which was A.J. McKee vs. Darrion Caldwell. McKee is 17-0 and just 25-years-old and was once the top prospect in all of MMA and now could be a Bellator champion in his next fight.<\/p>\n If you want to see the direction I\u2019m referring to, look no further than the main event of #Bellator253<\/a> tonight on @CBSSportsNet<\/a>. https:\/\/t.co\/loqgwyWp73<\/a><\/p>\n — Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) November 19, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n