It would appear that UFC legend and former middleweight champion Anderson Silva has agreed to sign a longer contract with the promotion. And considering his age and injury history, it’s a lot more fights than what one would deem sensible for the man they call “Spider.”
“I had seven fights on my contract (after UFC 183),” said Silva in an interview with Combate.com. “I met (Zuffa Chairman) Lorenzo (Fertitta) and (UFC President) Dana (White) on Thursday and that contract was canceled. We signed for another 15 fights… …to make Dana crazy, I signed for 15 more fights. And to make my family crazy, too.” Silva’s next scheduled fight is against Nick Diaz, at UFC 183 on January 31.
That’s a lot of fights for the 39-year-old Silva, who had lost two straight matches to current middleweight champ Chris Weidman, after winning 17 in a row. Silva had broken his leg in that second fight against Weidman, requiring a long hiatus and igniting speculation of imminent retirement. But Silva is confirmed to be back in action just three months from now, and if he limits himself to about three to four fights per year at the most, he may be 44 or 45 by the time the new deal is completed.
In addition to confirming the new UFC deal, Silva also hinted that he is in talks with Adidas, now that he’s no longer being backed by Nike.