For the first time since 2006, an
Ultimate Fighting Championship legend is no longer part of the
roster.
MMA Fighting first broke the news on Thursday that Anderson
Silva (34-11, 1 NC) was released by the UFC. Shortly after this
story came out, UFC President Dana White disputed the release when
speaking to
TMZ. A few hours later, White told TMZ that he was mistaken,
and that Silva was indeed released from his contract. “The Spider”
made his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 5 in 2006.
The all-time great middleweight started off his UFC tenure by
rattling off 16 wins, a record that still stands. Capturing the
185-pound throne by smashing Rich
Franklin in his sophomore appearance, Silva went on to defend
it 10 times. This consecutive title defense streak record was later
trumped by Demetrious
Johnson, who retained it in 11 bouts. Along the way, Silva went
up to light heavyweight a few times, scoring knockouts of James Irvin,
Forrest
Griffin and Stephan
Bonnar – all three failed drug tests after facing Silva. Silva
trails only former foe Vitor
Belfort (12) for the most knockouts in company history with
11.
Silva lost for the first time, also suffering his first career
knockout defeat, when Chris
Weidman separated him from his consciousness in 2013. Silva was
given an immediate title rematch a few months later, and he broke
his leg badly on a checked kick to keep him out of action for over
a year. Although Silva started his UFC run at 16-0, he ended it at
1-7 with a no-contest from 2013 to 2020. He leaves the promotion on
a three-fight skid, with a decision loss to current champ Israel
Adesanya preceding two knockout losses to Jared
Cannonier and Uriah
Hall.
After the loss to Hall, White wished that Silva would retire and
stop competing, not wanting to see the 45-year-old take more damage
and potentially harm his legacy. Silva had one fight left on his
contract with the promotion, but the UFC waived it to allow him to
compete elsewhere. Since then, fans and media members have
speculated potential landing places for the middleweight, including
joining the ranks of Bellator MMA or Rizin Fighting Federation. Some are even
expecting
an eventual “dream matchup” against other aging names in the sport
like Fedor
Emelianenko. The oft-rumored boxing matchup against Roy Jones
Jr. also remains a possibility, as Jones Jr. has stated that he
will keep competing after facing Mike Tyson in November.