“And You Took It for Granted Every Night That Jordan Played Right Up Until He Left” – Dana White Once Compared Anderson Silva’s Retirement to Michael Jordan’s

Anderson Silva is one of the initial names to gain massive fame in MMA. The now ’47-year-old’ had literally conquered the sport. Silva had fought in the MMA circuit of Brazil, Japan, and England. Before he made it to the biggest of them all, the UFC. Even the UFC boss, Dana White, acknowledged the greatness of Silva in a July 2013 interview while the UFC was preparing for its 162nd edition.

‘The Spider’ also conquered the UFC and went on to become the longest-reigning Middleweight Champion. Silva is currently enjoying his retired life from MMA, but he has left behind a royal legacy for MMA fans. His fights against Chael Sonnen, Belfort, and Dan Henderson continue to be MMA classics. They are to date watched by fans worldwide.

Dana White said the UFC wouldn’t be the same without Anderson Silva

In 2013, the legend ‘Spider’ Silva was a famed face in the MMA world. But everyone has to step back with time as age catches up with us. The UFC boss went on to state, “I think that’s one of the things people don’t really think about or realize, but the day that comes when that man says ‘I’m going to retire’, it’s going to s**k”. The MMA world in 2013 could not be imagined without Anderson Silva.

Silva’s domination was evident to those who witnessed him perform feats inside the Octagon. The statistics support the assertions that ‘The Spider’ was the greatest fighter to have ever competed in the sport.

He had won 16 straight UFC matches and had successfully defended his Middleweight title 10 times in a row.

MMA without Silva is what basketball is without Michael Jordan

White further compared Silva with the basketball legend, ‘Michael Jordan’ as he stated, “It’s literally like when (Michael) Jordan went away in basketball”. He also explained the similarities between the expectations of the fans from these legends. White stated, “you took it for granted every night that Jordan played right up until he left. I think that’s going to be the case with Anderson Silva too.”

Every basketball fan, irrespective of whom they supported, was hurt when Jordan left the court. White had predicted a similar fate for the MMA fans once Silva decided to retire.

White also stated how he too expected something “crazy” to happen each time Silva stepped into the octagon. He also named a few famous instances where ‘The Spider’ showcased his genius in MMA. He said, “the Vitor (Belfort) kick, what he did to Vitor, when (Stephan) Bonnar throws that spinning back kick and he steps to the side and then steps back in”. White also loved the way how Silva sometimes “put his hands down” and allowed opponents to hit him although he also said that “The list goes on and on”.

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White also loved the way how Silva constantly “challenged himself” in “weird” ways. He went on, “You know how confident you’ve got to be in your f**king abilities, and your chin, and your skills and your age and all that s**t, and how absolutely f **king bad ass you’ve got to be to do the things that this guy does.“

‘The Spider’ announced a goodbye from the Octagon and went to boxing in the year 2020. But, most Anderson Silva videos on the YouTube channel of the UFC have got over a million views. This itself speaks of the legacy that ‘The Spider’ has left for every MMA fan.

Do you miss watching Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva inside the Octagon?

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