When Anderson Silva started his career in 1997, it began humbly in his home country of Brazil.
When it ends, it will no doubt be on the biggest stage, in front of one of the biggest audiences the sport has ever seen.
Silva isn’t just a fighter anymore; he’s a legend with a very impressive list of victims: Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Hayato Sakurai, Nate Marquardt and so many others.
And it’s not just the names on the list, it’s how he disposed of many of them: easily.
But no matter how many men a champion fights, there’s always one more waiting.
When Anderson Silva retires, he can say he was the best of his time, even if he is defeated by Chael Sonnen in their upcoming rematch, or anyone else. He’s been that good.
As the road begins to narrow, there are still great fights to be had, both for himself and the fans. For the sake of argument, I’ve made a list of six opponents I’d like to see Silva face before he retires.
Granted, when watching a true superstar do his thing, “one more time” is never enough, but still, a fight with any one of these men would be a nice finishing touch to his career.