One of the greatest UFC fighters to ever step into the octagon has closed the door on his cage-fighting career.

Following his TKO loss to Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night 181 in October 2020, Anderson Silva has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts just months after being released from his UFC contract.

While being interviewed by ESPN reporter Ariel Helwani ahead of his upcoming fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Silva declared: "I don’t need to prove nothing for anybody." 

Silva cited the rigorous demands of training as what led him to consider if he wanted to continue fighting inside a cage. 

"Every single day, different companies, especially in Japan and Asia, too, called me, but I think MMA for me is done," Silva said to ESPN. "Because it’s hard to train MMA. It’s hard to stay in camp training in a good level because you hurt yourself a lot.

"Now I just try to enjoy. I don’t need to prove nothing for anybody."

"I just try to enjoy every single moment I fight in different sports, and that’s it," he added. "Maybe my next challenge is jiu-jitsu – gi or no gi. Just enjoy the moment. The whole martial arts."

Silva, 46, retires from MMA with a record of 34-11 in his professional career. He holds the record for the longest win streak in UFC history (16). 

'The Spider' signed with the UFC in 2006 and went on to win the UFC middleweight title that same year at UFC 64. He won 26 of his 46 fights by knockout or submission.  

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