UFC boss White unsure on Silva

UFC boss Dana White has to decide what to do with a 45-year-old legend with two fights left on his contract－and little hope of returning to form.

Former middleweight champ Anderson Silva, who holds the record for the longest title run in UFC history at 2,457 days, hasn't fought in more than a year while recovering from knee surgery. He's determined to get back into the Octagon, but White will have the final say.

Silva had some back and forth with Conor McGregor and Anthony Pettis about potential "super fights" before Irish superstar McGregor announced his retirement after UFC 250 earlier this month.

Although Silva and Pettis want to fight each other, the bout doesn't appear likely after White cast a dark shadow over it in an interview with ESPN last week.

"I'm going to tell you why I'm not crazy about Silva vs Pettis," White said. "You got a guy who fought at 145 pounds at one time and a guy who's in the conversation for the GOAT at 185 pounds and walks around at 210, 215.

"The bottom line is that it's not a big fight that really means something. I like making fights that mean something."

Silva is one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history, but is only 1-6 with a no-contest in his last eight bouts dating back to 2013－due largely to injuries sustained during that span.

"I honestly don't know what to do with his last two fights," White said. "When Anderson's really ready to fight, we'll sit down, we'll look at it and figure out what we think makes sense for him next.

"There's a lot of things in the decision-making process with Silva. His age, what he gets paid, all that stuff's important."

Meanwhile, half of UFC's eight titles in men's weight classes are going to be defended on Fight Island after White confirmed that the rematch between No 1 Deiveson Figueiredo and No 2 Joseph Benavidez will be for the vacant flyweight crown in the main event on July 25 in Abu Dhabi.

A week earlier on Fight Island, UFC 251 will be headlined by three title fights: a welterweight clash between champion Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns; a featherweight rematch between champion Alexander Volkanovski and former champ Max Holloway; and a showdown between Petr Yan and Jose Aldo for the vacant bantamweight crown.

Figueiredo knocked out Benavidez in the second round of what was supposed to be a championship fight on Feb 29 in Virginia, but he was 2.5 pounds over the weight limit so the belt was not on the line.