Anderson Silva Has A Chance To Enter Retirement On Top

Anderson “Spider” Silva is going to go down as one of the greatest martial arts fighters of all time. The former middleweight champion claims he will step aside from the Octagon after fighting MMA veteran Uriah Hall this Saturday inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas. As far as we know, Silva will head into retirement after ruling the MMA world for over a decade.

The prime time version of Silva has been long gone ever since he shattered his ankle in 2013. However, it’s largely impressive that Silva can continue to fight at the highest level at age 45. With a 34-10-0, 1 NC record, Silva will leave knowing that he will be a future Hall of Fame inductee.

Who Wins?

Among the across the globe, Hall is a heavy favorite at odds of -230. Hall is the #10 ranked fighter in the UFC middleweight division. However, Hall has found inconsistencies, which has prevented him from getting over the hump and competing for a UFC belt. This fight will be exciting, not only because of Silva’s retirement, but that Hall and Silva are two incredible strikers who can be scrappy at times. 

This has an “idol becomes a rival” feel to it. Hall, at age 36, has grown to respect Silva through all his years in the UFC. With a win over his idol, Hall can improve to .500 in the UFC. Overall, Hall owns a 15-7 record in MMA, but an 8-9 record in the UFC. As for Silva, he will look to snap a four-match losing streak after beginning his UFC career 17-2. 

Hinting At More

Despite claims of retiring after this match, Silva is on record saying that his final decision will come from Saturday’s fight. There’s a chance that if Silva wins on Saturday, he could be looking for more fights. Silva has two more fights remaining on his current contract with the UFC, but earlier this month he claimed that this would be his last fight. 

If Silva goes back on his word and fights after Saturday, it would be a huge shock. Silva has already bashed the UFC by saying that he believes the organization does not feel like a family. He also has hinted in the past about fighting outside the UFC to continue his fighting career. All in all, this fight has a lot more implications than we thought. 

The Legacy

If Silva truly does walk away, he leaves behind a decorated fighting career. When Silva was the UFC Middleweight Champion, he set a record for longest title reign in the UCF by holding the belt for 2,457 days. That started in 2006 and ended in 2013. This run included a UFC record 16 straight victories. Around the world, when someone thinks of the middleweight class star, Silva’s name is the first fighter most think of. 

What makes Silva even more impressive is his work ethic to continue to fight. When Silva cracked his shin bone on live PPV in 2013, many believed that he needed to retire the following year. However, before UFC 179, Silva and the UFC agreed to a 15-fight contract. We just clipped UFC 254, which means that Silva has hung around and for that he should have everyone’s respect no matter the end result on Saturday.