MMA legend aiming for final fight in Japan

MMA legend Anderson Silva Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

MMA legend in negotiations to have final fight in Japan

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 6/16/23

Soon-to-be UFC Hall of Famer Anderson Silva won his first professional mixed martial arts championship in Japan, so it’s only fitting that he would finish his MMA career there as well.

During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, the 48-year-old Brazilian confirmed he is in talks for his mixed martial arts swan song once he wraps up his two current movie projects.

“We’re in talks with Japan for a possible last MMA fight in Japan,” Silva said. “It makes all the sense. I started my career internationally there, so we probably want to it end there, too. Let’s see if that happens. … We’re waiting for these movie works to end, the projects I’m doing, so we go to Japan and sit down to talk with the people interested in taking this fight to Japan and end my MMA career there.”

Although Silva declined to name which MMA organization he is in talks with, it is assumed to be one of Japan’s big three promotions — RIZIN, Pancrase or Shooto.

Silva’s MMA journey began in Brazil in 1997. He compiled a 4-1 record before winning his first fight outside of the country — a unanimous decision victory over Tetsuji Kato in Tokyo (video below).

#ThrowbackMMA | Un día como hoy, hace 17 años, Anderson Silva (@SpiderAnderson) obtiene su primer título de peso medio tras vencer a Hayato Sakurai (@s_mach_hayato) en #Shooto: To the Top 7.#MMA #SpiderSilva #ShootoBrasil pic.twitter.com/Bz23ILfZus
— MMA Fusion (@MMA_Fusion) August 26, 2018

Five months later, Silva returned to Japan, this time leaving as the Shooto middleweight champion following a unanimous decision win over Hayato Sakurai in Osaka.

Silva’s last MMA fight took place in October 2020, when he lost via fourth-round TKO to Uriah Hall in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 181 in Las Vegas. Although he has had a near three-year hiatus from the octagon, Silva has stayed busy in the combat sports world.

In 2021 and 2022, Silva went 2-1 in three professional boxing bouts, with wins over former WBC middleweight Julio Cesar Chaves Jr. and former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortizduring. His lone loss in that group of fights came against Jake Paul last October.

“The Spider” ran up a 17-4 record (including a 5-2 record in Japan) while winning titles in Shooto and Cage Rage before he made his UFC debut in June 2006 against Chris Leben.

Silva holds several UFC records, including longest title reign in UFC history (2,457 days), longest win streak (16), most wins in middleweight title fights (11), most successful title defenses in middleweight history (10), most finishes in title fights (nine) and most Knockout of the Night awards (seven).

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