Watch: Anderson Silva talks about his 'final day' in the UFC after loss to Uriah Hall
UFC legend Anderson Silva spoke about his ‘final day’ in the UFC following his loss at UFC Fight Night, Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Silva, the former long-time UFC Middleweight Champion, absorbed a fourth-round TKO loss to top middleweight contender Uriah Hall. The loss marked a bitter end to a fantastic UFC career for “The Spider” who is believe to have competed in his final UFC fight.
After the bout an emotional Anderson Silva shared his thoughts on his final appearance inside the UFC Octagon.
“You know, fighting is fighting, your chance for winning is 50-50. Today, Uriah was the best. He’s come to win the fight, and I’m enjoying my moment,” Silva told commentator Michael Bisping, who he shared the Octagon with back in 2016.
Silva went on to confirm that his was indeed his ‘final day’ in the UFC.
“Sometimes it’s very difficult for us to stop, but today is the final day, and I’m so happy to be here and doing my last show for my fans here in the UFC, for the UFC family.”
When asked by Bisping if this was indeed the end of his MMA career, Silva’s answer was a lot less certain.
“I don’t know. First I go back home, and I go see with my team everything. Let’s go see, you know? Because it’s tough to say it’s my last or not, because this is my air, this I do for my entire life, and with my heart, so let’s go see.”
Anderson Silva’s dominant UFC legacy is set in stone
If this is indeed the final fight in Anderson Silva’s UFC, or even MMA career, he leaves a legacy that may very well be unmatched.
Anderson Silva built a solid resume in promotions like Shooto, Cage Rage, and PRIDE FC before coming over to the UFC in 2006. It was inside the Octagon however, that Silva produced his best work.
After a 49-second destruction of Chris Leben, Anderson Silva went on to dethrone Rich Franklin for the UFC Middleweight Champion and embarked on a six year run as the king of the 185-pound division.
In that period, Anderson Silva defeated the likes of Dan Henderson, Patrick Cote, Thales Leites, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen twice, Vitor Belfort, and Yushin Okami. In between those middleweight title defenses, he also made trips up to the light heavyweight division to take out James Irvin, Forrest Griffin, and Stephan Bonnar.
While Anderson Silva's career was never the same after dropping the title to Chris Weidman back in 2013, he was still able to put on some classic performances against Bisping, Daniel Cormier, and current reigning middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya.
Anderson Silva, 45, has a career record of 34 wins, 11 losses, and 1 no contest. Of those 34 wins, 22 have come via knockout.
He also holds the record for longest title reign in UFC history with 2457 days, longest winning streak in UFC history with 16 fights, most UFC middleweight title fights with 13, and most wins in UFC middleweight title fights with 11, among many other records in the promotion.