Who is Sheldon Silver and why did Dana White mention him at UFC 268 press conference?

Dana White slammed Sheldon Silver at UFC 268 press conference [Right image credit: @instablog9ja via Instagram]

Stacked to the brim with spectacular matchups and topped off with two massive title bouts, UFC 268 delivered on the promise of being one of the best cards in a long time. The 268 pay-per-view card took place at New York City's iconic Madison Square Garden.

In the post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that UFC 268 was the fourth-highest gate in the venue's history, grossing $9.9 million. While stating the numbers, the UFC president took a shot at Sheldon Silver, a former attorney and politician.

"Think about how long it took us to get here. We are number one all time gate here at MSG, and now number four. Think of all the massive events that have been here, right? And we're number one. And Sheldon Silver is in jail and we're number on. Karma is a motherf***er," Dana White said.

“Sheldon Silver’s in jail, and we’re number one. Karma is a mf’er” #UFC268 #danawhite #NYC https://t.co/Az6LBFcvZA

Sheldon Silver, 77, is a former Speaker of the New York State Assembly who is currently serving a jail sentence on corruption charges. He was handed seven years in prison after he was found guilty of accepting nearly $4 million in illicit payments in return for using his political position.

Watch the full UFC 268 post-fight press conference by Dana White below:

How is Sheldon Silver related to the UFC?

Sheldon Silver, in his capacity as the Speaker, was largely responsible for the delay in legalizing mixed martial arts events in the state of New York. Dana White and the UFC led the efforts to make MMA events lawful in the state, but the legislation was blocked time and again by Sheldon Silver.

It was only after Silver's conviction and subsequent expulsion from the Assembly that New York became the last of the 50 states to allow MMA in 2016.

Saturday, November 6 was nearly five years from UFC 205, the promotion's first return to New York in two decades after the longtime ban on MMA events was overturned. Headlined by Conor McGregor's historic 'Champ-Champ' victory over Eddie Alvarez, UFC 205 is the highest-grossing gate in Madison Square Garden history, at $17.7 million, per Yahoo! Sports.

Sheldon Silver was released from prison in May under a provision of the CARES Act that allows prison inmates deemed vulnerable to COVID-19 to return home on furlough temporarily.

Dana White was not happy about Silver's release and expressed disdain regarding the matter.

We had to wait 10 years to get into New York because of this guy,” White said. “Not only did we get cheated because of him, but the fans got cheated, the State of New York got cheated out of millions of dollars in taxes and economic impact, and the athletes and sport got cheated by not having access to the media capital of the world... The fact that a very bad, corrupt guy like this doesn’t have to serve his prison term is disgusting," Dana White said [Via: Yahoo!Sports]

Silver was ordered back to prison two days later from the Lower Manhattan hospital where he was under federal custody.

BREAKING: @AP source says ex-New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will be returned to federal prison after home confinement was denied. Silver, who began serving a sentence for corruption in August, was released on furlough this week. apne.ws/TfPseCf