Reliving past struggles is never easy—a truth Anderson Silva knows well, having revisited his own journey while helping bring his biographical series to life. The series titled “Anderson ‘Spider’ Silva” premiered globally on Paramount+ starting March 5, 2026, with the U.S. release on March 7, 2026. Naturally, it became a talking point during Silva’s recent conversation with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. 

“Ariel, I am doing therapy for that,” Silva revealed when asked whether he got emotional watching his own life unfold on the TV. 

“When I start work with the team, and when I watch it [I had to go to therapy],” Silva added later in the interview. “It’s very hard when you’re talking about your life, when you don’t have a perfect life and have gone through very hard and difficult moments. When you start putting everything on the table for the crew to write the story, it’s tough. It’s not easy, but I think it’s good.”

While the series takes us through Anderson Silva’s journey from a challenging childhood to becoming an MMA icon, it became available on Paramount+ recently. The series originally premiered in 2023 in Brazil. A total of three actors played Silva, depicting three stages of his life, namely, William Nascimento as adult Silva, Bruno Vinicius as teenage Anderson, and Caetano Vieira as child Anderson.

The show covers Silva’s early martial arts career, working multiple jobs to support his family, preparing for tournaments, personal struggles, challenges adapting in Japan, and unresolved family issues. Silva’s show on Paramount+ came months after the streaming giant signed a massive $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Silva’s former promotion, UFC, last year. 

‘The Spider’ retired from the sport in October 2020 and has since taken up several endeavors in life. He started boxing and fought Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Jake Paul, and others. Last year, after beating Tyron Woodley, he also announced that he is training to become a police officer, which is still ongoing, and prevented him from having an MMA comeback. 

Anderson Silva revealed he was offered an MMA fight

Anderson Silva has claimed he was offered an MMA fight by Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founder Nakisa Bidarian. However, he ultimately chose to decline the opportunity as he focuses on a new chapter in his life. 

“Nakisa invited me to come fight MMA or kickboxing,” he told Helwani during the interview. “Because I’m in this process [of becoming a cop], I just said, ‘I can’t this time.’ I don’t have a mindset anymore to [train in] MMA… It’s too hard for me to go back to training in MMA. 

“Of course, I train in jiu-jitsu every day… I train in boxing two days a week, but MMA, no, not anymore.”

Despite turning down the fight, Silva hinted he may return for one or two more boxing bouts in the future. Against whom? His choices included former MMA opponents Chris Weidman and Hayato Sakurai. 

Had he accepted the offer, Silva could have been added to the growing list of names on the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card. The Netflix exclusive event is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. And the likes of Francis Ngannou, Nate Diaz, and Mike Perry have already made it on the card. 

Anderson Silva might not be fighting anytime soon, but his TV series will likely keep him in the public’s headspace. So, when he does decide to return, the fight will be huge. Did you watch his show?