Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was not very popular among stateside MMA promotions, particularly after getting cut on the heels of three straight losses, but that didn’t keep “The Spider” off the market in Japan.
Where the competition is “a little easier.”
“Every single day different companies, especially in Japan and Asia too, called me, but I think MMA for me is done because it’s hard to train MMA,” Silva told ESPN. “It’s hard to stay in camp training in a good level because you hurt yourself a lot, you know? Now I just try to enjoy. I don’t need to prove nothing for anybody. I just try to enjoy every single moment I fight in different sports. And that’s it.”
Silva, who finished with an MMA record of 34-11 (1 NC), turned 46 back in April.
“The Spider” will make his boxing debut against ex-WBC middleweight titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico on June 19, a pay-per-view (PPV) bonanza that also features the return of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. under exhibition rules.