Wanderlei Silva has officially retired from active competition.
Former UFC and Bellator MMA veteran, Wanderlei Silva has announced his retirement from the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.
Silva, 46, announced the news when speaking with MMA Fighting, citing the main reason for his retirement, is wanting to pass the torch to his son, Thor.
“Only those who have sons know how it’s like watching them fight. 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.”
The former Pride Middleweight Champion hasn't competed since his Bellator 206 TKO loss to Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson back in September of 2018. Silva began his professional career back in 1996 and would quickly find himself in the UFC just two years later. However, 'The Axe Murderer' would compile a modest 5-6 record inside of the UFC octagon but in-between his two UFC stints, the Brazilian would cement himself as a legend in the now-defunct Japan-based Pride promotion. During his eight-year Pride tenure, Silva held the promotion's middleweight title from November 2001 through February 2007, where he lost to UFC legend, Dan Henderson.
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