“This Is The Last One”

Esther Lin – MMA Fighting

After 23 years of fighting, Anderson Silva will finally hang up his gloves after fighting Urijah Hall on October 31st.

After some back and forth, Anderson Silva has finally decided it’s time to retire.

The former UFC middleweight champion had a long run at the top of the sport, but has struggled since losing his belt to Chris Weidman back in 2013. Including that loss, he’s 1-6-1 over the past seven years … obviously not great for someone who was widely considered the GOAT for half a decade.

Dana White declared that Silva’s Halloween fight would be his last. But his coach didn’t seem on the same page. We’re not sure what’s been going on in Silva’s life, but he’s now being very clear: his bout against Urijah Hall on October 31st will be his last.

“It’s the last fight. For sure this is the last fight,” he told MMA Junkie. “Probably this is the last fight. I love the sport. I’ve prepared my mind for this. I’ve prepared for fights my entire life. But yes, this is my last fight in the UFC.”

“I think [I’ll miss] the training,” he said when asked what was the hardest part of hanging up the gloves. “Preparing my mind, preparing my body. This is the most important and I fell sad because I don’t have this any more. This is the last one.”

As for whether he’ll stick around in the sport in some capacity, perhaps as a coach or trainer?

“I don’t know [about coaching fighters],” he said. “Maybe I coach my son. But for other fighters, I don’t think so.”

Anderson’s son Gabriel Silva is currently working his way up in the kickboxing world, and recently captured the IKF southern California middleweight and the FightersRep 165-pound titles.

If there’s one lesson the elder Silva can teach his young son, it’s that he should hold onto them belts or they may never come back to you. According to “The Spider,” he’s still waiting for the UFC to send him back the championship belts he earned over the years.

“I don’t have the UFC belts,” Silva revealed. “But I talked to Dana, Dana said ‘Oh I’ll send to you, the whole belts you have. Don’t worry. But I’m waiting for Dana to send me the belts. I think I have … 10 or 11? I think 11?”