Anderson Silva’s controversial victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 208 was his first win inside the octagon since October 2012.
A clearly delighted Silva, now 41, still sees a future for himself inside the octagon, clearly buoyed on by his victory.
This is a man who lives and breathes fighting. Although he is maybe no longer capable of the jaw-dropping feats of the past, “The Spider” has proven that he can still compete, despite question marks over his abilities given father time’s steady approach on the heels MMA legend:
“I am so happy because first of all I love fighting. Second, sometimes when people talk to me and say, ‘why don’t you stop? You don’t need to prove nothing anymore,’ and I respond, ‘because this is my heart. Fighting’s my life.’
“And when you go inside the cage I’m back to when I was 30 years old, and just happy. And I just stay happy, because this is my life.”
The Brazilian earned a debatable unanimous decision victory in ‘208’s co-main event. With Brunson looking stronger and appearing to have the upper hand, many were surprised to hear the scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in favour of the former UFC middleweight champion.
Silva did acknowledge the factor of his age in reference to lasting a full fight, and alluded to round three of the bout which saw Brunson’s take down pin him to the canvas for close to two minutes of the round:
“I’m old,” Silva said. “I’m very old.
“Yeah, the last round. The last round I say, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m an old man now. Jesus Christ.’ But I think, this is not important. Because when I go inside a cage, I don’t care — 41, 42, 43 — I just put my heart into it. That’s all.”
The MMA legend will turn 42 this year. At an age where the majority of fighters will have hung up their gloves, Silva has indicated that he is happy to wait for his next challenge following much-earned time spent with his family:
“No, I just wait for my next challenge inside the cage,” he said. “But for now I need to rest a little bit. I’m old.”
There is clearly no desire on the Brazilian’s part to quit just yet; the man is clearly defined by his love of fighting:
“Yeah, I’m happy, because I do my best,” he said. “I’m just happy. When I put my legs inside, and when I walk into the cage, I think, of my gosh, I’m back to fight. Thank you God.”
