Anderson Silva: Manager Says Silva Will Retire After 4 More Fights

As Anderson Silva reaches 37 years old, it is fair to assume that he is not getting any younger.

And it has become clearer with each fight that he leans towards retirement more and more. 

Silva's manager, Ed Soares, recently spoke to SporTV and discussed the Brazilian's future in the UFC. He said the middleweight champion is nearing the end of his career, and facing the same competition does not serve any value to Silva as he continues to look for mega-fights.

"Sonnen would make a big fight, as would Dan Henderson and Georges St-Pierre, but we should recognize that Anderson only has around 4 fights left in his career," Soares said. 

The general consensus is that Silva should move up to 205 pounds to challenge UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, or face off against fellow pound-for-pound champion Georges St-Pierre. 

However, it is highly likely fans will witness a rematch between Silva and Chael Sonnen, considering how Sonnen dominated the champion like no one else before him. Even more surprising is that Sonnen backed up his trash talk leading up to the title bout. 

But according to Soares, pairing Silva up against previous opponents would seem pointless and less competitive for the champion. 

"My opinion is that he had his chance and tapped, he should go back to the end of the line. The same thing is true with Vitor Belfort," Soares said regarding potential rematches. "They're great fighters, but they had their chance."

The thought of seeing Silva defend his title against opponents like Sonnen and Belfort might be repetitive, but there is less of a chance seeing him compete in more high-profile bouts, momentarily.

The competition surrounding Silva in the middleweight division is very thin, but unless he is offered a fight that holds a lot of significance, he might have to remain at 185 pounds.