The entire MMA community participated in a collective groan when Anderson Silva first broke his leg on Chris Weidman’s knee at UFC 168. We followed up with a synchronized sigh of concern as many of us figured the greatest fighter of all time would no longer be.
Fast forward 10 months and the Spider is putting on the finishing touches on his rehabilitation and gearing up for what could be a blockbuster fight against Nick Diaz. As of the start of this month, this would have left Silva with seven fights left in his contract with the UFC. Closing in on 40, few of us actually believed he’d be able to make it through the remainder of his contract.
For reasons unbeknownst to those on the outside, Dana White and friends signed Silva onto an a new contract—a 15-fight new contract. Even if Silva managed to stay healthy and active enough to fight three times a year—something he hasn’t accomplished since 2008—he’d need to step into the Octagon until he was five years shy of 50.
But far be it for us to assume anything less than amazing of the Spider, though. He’s been the most exciting fighter the sport has ever seen for the last eight years now; we’d be foolish to turn him away from an opportunity to silence any of the Fedor Emelianenko, Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones supporters as he cements his legacy as the greatest of all time.
So, just as we’ve done for the last eight years of Silva’s UFC career, let us boundlessly enjoy his talents inside of the cage. Here are 15 fights we’d love to see Silva take with his new UFC contract.
(Note: the fights are listed in no particular order).