Wanderlei Silva officially retires from MMA
Wanderlei Silva has officially announced his retirement from MMA.
Although Silva is 46-years-old and has not fought since 2018, he said he is done with the sport of MMA. He will now turn his focus on his son who is beginning his fighting career while also working on his political career.
“Only those who have sons know how it’s like watching them fight,” Silva told MMA Fighting. “This feeling is completely different, but it’s very exciting because we know what it’s like and everything that can happen in a fight. I know where he can go, I’ve been through it all, and I know that what really counts is hard work. You may be the son of [someone important] or have as much money as you have, but hard work and training is what counts in there, and thank God he has behaved like a professional already.”
Wanderlei Silva (35-14-1 and one No Contest) ends his career on a two-fight losing skid and coming off a TKO loss to Rampage Jackson after losing by decision to Chael Sonnen. In his career, the Brazilian fought for PRIDE, UFC, and Bellator and has notable wins over Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping, and Keith Jardine while also being the former PRIDE middleweight champion. Silva, as well, holds the record for the most wins, knockouts, title defenses and longest winning streak in PRIDE.
Even though Silva’s career is coming to an end, he is looking forward to it and having his son pave his own path in MMA and see where his career goes.
“There are many great promotions today like Bellator, RIZIN, and UFC, great promotions that give opportunity for the athlete to show their work and fight the best,” said Silva. “We’ll see how his career progresses and the opportunities that will present themselves, and we’ll choose the best path.”
