by: Kelvin Hunt
Supposedly, UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva has told Brazilian cable channel SporTV, that he has “already gave his all and within one year will put aside his gloves.” If this quote is true, which so far has not been denied, it would be a sad day for many Spider Silva fans all around the world. He has cleared out the UFC middleweight division and tested the waters of the light heavyweight division with a first round KO of James Irvin. However, there are at least five big fights I would love to see before Anderson Silva retires:
- Anderson Silva vs. Chuck Liddell-Although Liddell is coming off a devastating KO loss to Rashad Evans…he is still a HUGE name in MMA. That’s proven by over 4,000 people coming out in the Phillipines to see him work out as the UFC did some promotional touring in that country.
- Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin-Griffen is arguably the best known fighter coming from the TUF show and is the current LHW champion.
- Anderson Silva vs. “Rampage” Jackson-Jackson is the former LHW champion and a fan favorite
- Anderson Silva vs. Randy Couture-I realize that Couture is currently fighting at HW, but he is the former LHW champion as well. In fact, if he can’t get the Fedor fight done….why not fight the guy that’s right there with Fedor as the best P4P fighter in the world?
- Anderson Silva vs. Cung Le-This fight would have to take place in California since that’s where the majority of Le’s fanbase resides.
There you have it…five money fights for Anderson Silva. However, if he does remain true to his word…you have to wonder what that means for the UFC. On one hand they have poured a lot of time and money into trying to build him into a legitimate PPV draw. UFC 90 will pretty much let us know whether they succeeded with that venture or not. At this point in his career he is arguably the best fighter on the planet, but he’s not a big money maker for the UFC at this point. So in terms of money they aren’t really losing that much. If he does decide to retire, that pretty much opens up the door for Rich Franklin to return to the MW division…who is a fan favorite. So all in all, him retiring doesn’t really affect the UFC THAT much. The show will go on, but it is a shame that we would lose the opportunity to see one of the best fighters of our generation perform.