Following his victory over Yushin Okami at UFC 134, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva has now revealed he fought through a shoulder injury.
The win gave Silva his ninth consecutive title defense, improving his professional record to 34-4 and his UFC record to 14-0. The recent news is quite surprising, considering how convincingly the Brazilian was able to dispatch his opponent.
“A month before the fight I injured my shoulder while training with Junior dos Santos, and I was feeling a lot of pain in Rio. I’ve had to take some medicine and warn the athletic commission about it,” Silva told Veja, courtesy of TATAME.com.
“It’s a small injury, but I guess it’s on the cuff and bothers me. I’ll rest for a while and get healed.”
Despite suffering from pain in his shoulder, Silva said his injury was not as serious, and he was cleared to compete.
This brings up a lot of credibility to his bout against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 where Silva retained his title but confessed he had suffered a rib injury in the post-fight interview. It is expected he will defend his middleweight crown against either Chael Sonnen or Brian Stann, where he will be looking to successfully defend the title for a tenth consecutive time.
Silva’s antics and effortless performance proved why he is undoubtedly one of the best fighters in the world.
At 36 years old, however, this also might be a sign that Silva is gradually slowing down as a fighter.
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