Throughout the week and the evening of the event,
UFC Fight Night 181 was billed as Anderson
Silva’s farewell bout.
However, during a post-fight interview with former foe and current
UFC commentator Michael
Bisping following his loss to Uriah Hall in
Saturday’s main event, “The Spider” hesitated when asked if he was
100 percent ready to call it a career.
“I don’t know, first I go back home and I go see with my team
everything,” Silva said. “Let’s go see because it’s tough to say
it’s my last or not because this is my air. This is what I do for
my entire life and with my heart. Let’s go see.”
Silva held his own with Hall for the bout’s opening 10 minutes, but
meaningful moments were few and far between during the initial two
stanzas. Hall turned the tide when he floored the 45-year-old
Brazilian late in Round 3 and flurried with strikes in search of a
finish before the horn sounded. A counter right hook by Hall
dropped Silva again in the fourth frame, and this time, “The
Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist put his foe away with
standing-to-ground punches at the 1:24 mark of the period.
Silva took his defeat in stride, and even if he isn’t done
fighting, seemed to acknowledge that it will be his last UFC
appearance.
“A fight is a fight. When you come inside, you have a chance to
win, 50-50, and today Uriah’s the best,” Silva said. “He come to
win the fight. I’m enjoying my moment. Sometimes it’s very
difficult for us to stop, you know?
“But today is the final day and I’m so happy to be here and doing
my last show for my fans in the UFC and the UFC family.”
UFC president Dana White refused to leave the door open for a
potential Octagon return for the ex-middleweight champion, who has
won just one fight in nine bouts since 2015.
“He fought a guy that has absolutely zero output,” White said at
Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “They’re in a five-round
main event on ESPN and they threw f—-ing 11 punches in the second
round. You fight any of these other savages, he’ll be in big
trouble, and he’ll take a s—t load of punishment. Uriah Hall threw
11 punches in the second round. Uriah Hall is one of the most
gun-shy fighters in the UFC.
“And look at Anderson. When the fight was over, he couldn’t even
stand up to do his interview. He had to sit down and do an
interview. I made a big mistake and I shouldn’t have let him fight
this fight tonight. He’s a legend of this sport and he’s a legend
of this company, and I did something I disagreed with. I knew I was
right, and tonight proved I was right, and Anderson Silva should
never fight again.”
White did confirm that Silva does have one fight remaining on his
current UFC contract. The UFC boss won’t allow Silva to fulfill
that bout, but he would release “The Spider” from his deal if he
insists on moving forward with his MMA career.
“I’m not trying to prevent him from doing anything,” White said.
“He’s a grown man and he can do what he wants, and he’s got one
fight left with us. I’ll never let him fight here again. I want him
to retire. And what I hope is when he goes home his family, he
tells him that same thing.
“I’m in a really hard position right now because this is a guy I
care about and this is a guy that’s been here for a long time and
is a legend of his company, and I don’t want to sit here and s—t on
him. But he’s almost 46 years old. Unless you’re trying to defend
your f—-ing life or save your family, no one at 46 should be
fighting.”
Though his UFC tenure might not have ended on a high note, Silva
has a career filled with highlights, and he struggled to pick a
favorite fight or opponent.
“I have different ones. I have great memories,” he said. “I have
the best moments in my life with every single opponent I fight in
the UFC.”