Anderson Silva, one of the greatest to compete in the cage, said that he is done with fighting.
Following his release from the UFC, the former longtime UFC middleweight champion told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani in an interview published Wednesday that he is finished with MMA.he said that he knew the bout with Uriah Hall in October would be the final fight.
“I think MMA for me is done,” Silva told Helwani. “Because it’s hard to train MMA. It’s hard to stay training at a good level because you hurt yourself a lot. Now I just try to enjoy it. 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.”
Silva will still fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a boxing match on June 19 in Mexico. But, the former UFC champion said that the world won’t see him in an MMA fight.
“Maybe my next challenge is jiu-jitsu — gi or no-gi,” Silva told Helwani. “Just enjoy the moment. The whole martial arts.”
Silva who is recognized as one of the greatest fighters in the history of MMA holds UFC records for longest title reign (2,457 days) and longest winning streak (16).
“I’m lucky because every time I fight MMA, I’m training hard and I put my heart and my real affection inside the cage,” Silva said.
Silva said that after his loss to Hall on October 31st, he got calls from other promotions to fight for them. But, Silva has completely decided to retire from the world of MMA.
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