Anderson Silva Talks About How MMA Saved His Life

Anderson Silva is easily one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. He is the true embodiment of a fighter that lives and dies by his craft. No matter how cocky or dominant he was in the cage, he bowed to every opponent with respect prior to his fights. Little things like that helped differentiate Silva and his commitment to the sport he was dominating.

With his career winding down ahead of his last UFC fight against Uriah Hall, Silva chose to reflect on what MMA has given to him with Ariel Helwani on his ESPN show.

“Well, because I believe martial arts give me everything I have in life. You know, I doing different life for my kids, for my wife because martial arts give me the whole opportunity. Martial arts gives me the more excuse to continue past a lot of problems in my life. Inside and outside the cage, inside the sport, outside the sport. And everything I have today is because martial arts gave it to me.”.

Anderson Silva ends his UFC journey by making an impact

Anderson Silva is one of the many great fighters that didn’t retire when their prime ended. Silva is a unique case, as he faced multiple injuries that would end most MMA careers of that stature. However, a true love for the sport and what he does keeps bringing him back to the Octagon. He has never taken easy fights, even after his championship peak ended.

However, Silva has been a non-factor in the rankings of the Middleweight decision. He has only one win since his second loss to Chris Weidman. This Hall fight is a unique opportunity for him to possibly go out of the sport with a win. That is another thing that is rare for top-level MMA fighters, who usually get punched into retirement, The same may happen with Silva, considering the KO power Hall has.

Nonetheless, it will be great to see an icon of the sport take his final bow as a competitor in the sport he loves so much. It gave him everything, and he gave it everything.