Anderson Silva has revealed his upcoming fight against Uriah Hall will be the last of his legendary MMA career. The Brazilian knockout artist is set to headline on October 31 against the TUF runner-up turned 185lb contender.
Earlier this year Silva was leaning toward but uncertain on retirement. Over the past few months, something seems to have changed and the former middleweight champion is more definite about his plans to walk away from the sport.
Speaking to MMA Junkie ahead of his fight against Hall later this month Silva confirmed that this will be the final time fans will see him complete, he said.
“This is the last fight. For sure, this is the last fight. Probably. I love the sport. I’ve prepared my mind for this. I’ve prepared for fight my entire life, but yes, this is my last fight in UFC.”
‘The Spider’ admits he is feeling sad at the prospect of leaving MMA after one final fight, he said.
“I think (I’ll miss) the training (the most). Preparing my mind, preparing my body. This I think is most important and I feel sad because I don’t have this anymore. This is the last one.”
Silva is confident of riding off into the sunset with a win over ‘Primetime’.
“I can’t say, ‘Oh, this fight goes to the ground, this fight is done in the standup,’” Silva said. “It’s two good strikers. Uriah’s a very, very athletic guy and has a good technique in the striking and I try to do my best. I try do to the best show for my fans.”
Silva is currently riding a two-fight losing streak heading into this bout. The 45-year-old has won just one of his last seven fights – that victory came against Derek Brunson in February 2017.
Hall comes into this fight in good form after picking up back-to-back wins over Bevon Lewis and Antonio Carlos Junior. The 36-year-old who hasn’t fought in more than a year has been linked to a fight with Yoel Romero for much of 2020.
Do you think Anderson Silva can retire with a win?