Watch: Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer's respectful gesture while introducing Anderson Silva for his final UFC fight
UFC announcer Bruce Buffer gave Anderson Silva a send-off of his own ahead of the latter's retirement fight last Saturday.
Anderson Silva stepped inside the cage for the last time at UFC Vegas 12 to face Uriah Hall in the main event. When introducing Anderson Silva in the Octagon, Buffer paid tribute to the veteran by taking a knee.
Bruce Buffer bows down to the 'greatness' of Anderson Silva
Bruce Buffer shared the clip of him taking a knee out of respect for Anderson Silva, and said that he did it to honor the legend that 'The Spider' is. This was only the second time that Buffer has done something like this, with the other being for Randy Couture.
Uriah Hall and Anderson Silva shared an emotional moment after the former won via knockout in the fourth round. Hall bent down in front of Silva to apologize to the legend, who has been one of the biggest inspirations behind the former taking up fighting.
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"I love you... I am so sorry. You’re the reason why I’m doing this. You’re still one of the greatest."
Uriah Hall later revealed that Anderson Silva told him to keep fighting and that he will win the title soon enough.
Anderson Silva's retirement saw an outpour of respect from all quarters of the MMA world. Fans and fighters alike joined in to pay tribute to inarguably one of the greatest Middleweights to ever fight in UFC.
However, one person who was not happy with the fight Silva and Hall put up was Dana White.
Dana White: Anderson Silva should never fight again
UFC President Dana White admitted that he went against his better judgment to let Anderson Silva fight Uriah Hall, and he regrets the decision now.
"And look at Anderson. When the fight was over, he couldn’t even stand up to do his interview. He had to sit down and do an interview. I made a big mistake and I shouldn’t have let him fight this fight tonight. He’s a legend of this sport and he’s a legend of this company, and I did something I disagreed with. I knew I was right, and tonight proved I was right, and Anderson Silva should never fight again."
Dana White said that Silva has one fight left on his UFC contract but claimed that he would never let him fight in the promotion again. White is ready to release him from the contract if Silva wants to fight for another company, but he hopes 'The Spider' retires.
"But he’s almost 46 years old. Unless you’re trying to defend your (expletive) life or save your family, no one at 46 should be fighting."