Anderson "The Spider" Silva was victorious in his first fight back after breaking his leg against Chris Weidman at UFC 168, but it could be the last time MMA fans see the former pound-for-pound king in the Octagon.
It had been reported that Silva would get another crack at the UFC middleweight title if he was able to beat Nick Diaz at UFC 183, but a number of factors may be conspiring to negate that.
First, Silva is unsure if he even wants to continue fighting. At 39 years old, Silva is at a very advanced stage of his career and his reflexes aren't as cat-quick as they were in his prime. Weidman exposed that in their first meeting, when he knocked out Silva who was semi-taunting him by evading punches with his hands down.
An emotional Silva called Saturday night's win the "culmination of a year of hard work, a lot of pain and a lot of rehabilitation." Following the victory, Silva hinted that his family would like to see him leave the Octagon for good, and he may be ready to oblige.
"I need to talk to my family. I love my job; this is me," he said. "I love to fight, but I need to talk to my family because this is more important in my life right now. When I talk to my son, my son cried and it was very difficult for me.
"It's a difficult decision," he added. "It's very difficult."
Weidman has a role in this potentially as well. Next month he was scheduled to defend his title against Vitor Belfort as the main event for UFC 184, but has pulled out because of torn cartilage in his ribs.
UFC will have to reschedule his bout with Belfort, which pushes Silva-Weidman III even further down the line. If the wait is too long, Silva may decide to just ride off into the sunset with his Diaz victory in hand.
[Sherdog]
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