Anderson Silva: UFC Middleweight Champion Ponders Retirement
Published by Staff on October 21st, 2008 in Current Events

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By Dave Sholler

There have been a lot of things running through UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s head lately.

For starters, the Brazilian has spent the past few months preparing for his title defense against crafty striker Patrick Cote at UFC 90 tomorrow night in Chicago, IL. If that wasn’t enough to keep his mind occupied, the jiu jitsu black belt – who won his UFC light heavyweight debut by knocking out James Irvin in July - has also been considering making a run at the 205-pound crown. His logic? Two belts are always better than one.

Even though he is considered by many as the pound-for-pound best and a threat to both divisions, Silva stunned many in the MMA industry recently by announcing that he is pondering retirement. At 33 years old, Silva seemingly wants to leave the sport unharmed and on top.

“What’s going on is even before Anderson came into the UFC, his goal has always been to retire at the age of 35,” Silva’s manager and interpreter Ed Soares said last week during a conference call for UFC 90. “You know he actually is talking about it much sooner than all of us would have liked to, but the reality of it is that his goal is to retire at 35. He’s got 18 months before he turns 35, and it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to retire right when he turns 35, that would just be his goal.”

While Soares did his best to protect his client, the truth is that Silva has been openly contemplating retirement in the media for months. Having compiled a 22-4 record and defeated some of the sport’s finest fighters, Silva may indeed be losing the fire to actively compete. After all, he’s headlined major cards, earned millions through endorsements, and clearly cemented himself as a future Hall-of-Famer. With six fights remaining on his UFC contract, could Silva’s public pondering be a sign that he is simply tired of fighting?

“Not at all,” Soares said firmly. “It’s just that his goal has been to retire at 35. And I told him, ‘let’s achieve your goal of getting to 35, and being in a position where you could retire, and at that point in time make your choices. And if you feel like you’ve got a few more fights in then let’s go a few more fights.’”

With retirement swirling in his mind, one must question Silva’s level of focus heading into tomorrow night’s contest against Cote. The 28-year-old Canadian is riding a four-fight winning streak and boasts good hands and decent submission skills. This combination of striking and grappling could pose problems for Silva, especially if he isn’t mentally committed to the fight. Soares believes otherwise.

“Right now our main focus is getting through Patrick Cote,” Soares said. That’s where (Anderson’s) mind is at right now, to go out there and perform well and beat Patrick. He’s not taking Patrick lightly. He has trained super, super hard for this fight and really the main thing on his mind is not after his fight. He’s focused on Patrick Cote. That’s what he’s focused on.”

STIFF JABS

In addition to Silva-Cote, Josh Koscheck steps in as a last minute replacement for Diego Sanchez and takes on Thiago Alves. The bout should go a long way in determining the number one welterweight contender. Potential fight of the night? Sean Sherk takes on Tyson Griffin in a lightweight battle. The winner would join Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson as top contenders for BJ Penn’s 155-pound title.

It looks like EliteXC has seen its final days. We hate to say we told you so. The company had plenty of promise. But much like any wobbly business, mismanagement ultimately ran it into the ground. Just goes to show you that not even millions of dollars and Kimbo Slice can keep you afloat.