If Anderson Silva does decide to continue fighting, it won’t be for the UFC.
Silva suffered a fourth-round TKO defeat to Uriah Hall in their UFC Vegas 12 middleweight headliner on Saturday. Despite a promising start, Silva was dropped twice en route to getting finished for the second fight in a row.
Regardless of the result, it was a big occasion as it was expected to be Silva’s last outing with the Las Vegas-based promotion. And as far as UFC president Dana White is concerned, he shouldn’t have even allowed the 45-year-old to compete again after seeing his performance against Hall.
“I made a big mistake,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “I shouldn’t have let him fight this fight tonight.
“But out of respect to him — he’s a legend of this sport, he’s a legend of this company — I did something that I disagreed with and I knew I was right and tonight proved I was right and Anderson Silva should never fight again.”
White pointed to how Hall was one of the most gun-shy fighters in the UFC and was still able to drop Silva twice.
Add in the fact that “The Spider” couldn’t even stand for his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping and White believes it’s beyond time for him to retire.
“I’ll never let him fight here again,” White added. “I want him to retire. I hope when he goes home, his family tells him the same thing. … He’s a legend of the company and I don’t want to just sit up here and shit on him but he’s almost 46 years old.
“Unless you’re trying to save your fucking life or defend your family, no 46-year-old should be fighting. Period.”
Silva, however, has continued to leave the door open.
“I don’t know,” Silva said when asked if this was his last-ever fight. “First, I go back home. I see with my team, everything, and let’s go see.
“Because it’s tough to say, ‘it’s my last or not’ because this is my air. This is what I do for my entire life and with my heart. Let’s go see.”
Thank you, @SpiderAnderson. #UFCVegas12 pic.twitter.com/DRZTQgN6zg
— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2020