Anderson Silva calls to face former opponent in Japan for final MMA fight: “We will see”

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has an idea in mind for his final fight.

‘The Spider’ has been out of action since his clash with Jake Paul last October. The two headlined a Showtime Boxing pay-per-view event, in the Brazilian’s fourth appearance since leaving the UFC in 2020. While he picked up wins over Tito Ortiz and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in the boxing ring after his exit, he didn’t have as much success against ‘The Problem Child’.

While the former UFC champion had some success, a late knockdown propelled the YouTuber to a unanimous decision win. That bout was Silva’s last in combat sports, and he currently has nothing scheduled either. However, fear not, the Brazilian is still planning to compete at least one more time in MMA.

During a recent interview with FightHubTV, Anderson Silva discussed a possible retirement fight. There, he echoed his prior sentiment about possibly retiring in Japan. A former PRIDE veteran who’s competed in the country several times, Silva seems content to retire there.

Furthermore, the Brazilian named Hayato Sakurai as his possible final opponent. ‘Mach’ faced Silva at Shooto 7 in August 2001, with the latter picking up the win by unanimous decision to win the promotion’s middleweight title. 22 years after their first encounter, the former UFC champion is willing to do it again, in what would be his final cage appearance.

(via Esther Lin/Showtime)

Anderson Silva discusses retirement fight against Hayato Sakurai

“Let me take my break bro. I’m 48 bro, come on,” Anderson Silva joked in response about a possible retirement fight. “I need to prepare for training, of course, I train every day… Yeah, absolutely [I still want to fight], yeah. I tried to have my last fight in MMA in Japan because I started fighting in Japan.”

He continued, “That’s what I tried to do, my last fight in Japan. My last MMA fight in Japan, I’m just waiting. Maybe Hayato Sakurai, because Sakurai fight with me in Shooto, you know. I think this is a good fight for us, we will see.”

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