Former middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva was released from his UFC contract in November 2020 after losing to Uriah Hall in the UFC Vegas 12 main event. Silva was free to field offers from other fight promotions, but has decided that his days as a mixed martial arts competitor are over.
“Every single day different companies, especially in Japan and Asia too, called me, but I think MMA for me is done because it’s hard to train MMA,” Silva told ESPN. “It’s hard to stay in camp training in a good level because you hurt yourself a lot, you know? Now I just try to enjoy. I don’t need to prove nothing for anybody. I just try to enjoy every single moment I fight in different sports. And that’s it.”
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Silva’s UFC career spanned 14 years. While Silva only won a single fight since 2013, he’ll go down as one of the greatest fighters ever to step inside the octagon. He set the bar for every future fighter to try to attain. He still holds several UFC records, including the most knockouts in the promotions history with 18. He held onto his title longer than any UFC champion before or after him for an astonishing 2457 days. The Brazilian holds the longest winning streak in the promotion’s history with 16 consecutive fights. You simply can not have a conversation about the all-time greats without mentioning Anderson Silva.
While Silva closed the door on competing in mixed martial arts again, he may not be done competing. “Maybe my next challenge is jiu-jitsu — gi or no gi,” Silva said. “Just enjoy the moment. The whole martial arts.”
Silva’s MMA record stands at 34-11 with one no-contest.
Anderson Silva is done with MMA, considering jiu-jitsu competitions