Anderson Silva Considered Retiring Before Chris Weidman Fight, Win or Lose
By Josh Sanchez
Jul 6, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Anderson Silva (yellow shorts) is introduced for his Middleweight Chamionship Bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Chris Weidman defeated Anderson in a TKO in the second round. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
After Anderson Silva lost his middleweight title at UFC 162 via brutal knockout from undefeated challenger Chris Weidman, he seemed strangely at peace with the outcome of the fight. Now, coming up on a week after the fight that still has the mixed martial arts world talking, a report is coming out that Silva had actually been contemplating retirement before he ever stepped in the cage with Weidman.
The news came from Brazilian news outlet Tatame, who spoke with Team Nogueira’s Andre Galvao.
“[Anderson Silva] became a celebrity, everyone knows who he is, [he] had no peace anywhere,” Galvao said, via a Google translation. “He was tired. Win or lose, he was considering retiring, but I think this defeat will bring him more motivation to keep fighting.”
For mixed martial arts fans, the hope is that this loss brings more motivation to the greatest of all-time so that we can see him go out on top.
If he truly lost his desire to fight, then the best move would be to retire or he could risk doing long-term damage to his legacy by going out and putting on performances like this past bout. The real question is how Silva can mentally bounce back after being knocked out.
We will get those answers soon, if the planned rematch between Weidman and Silva takes place.
Hopefully we can see a motivated Silva going out to re-gain his title, instead of a Silva with no respect for his opponent who thinks he is untouchable. As Weidman showed the world, Silva is only human.