UFC 139 Results: 5 Reasons Wanderlei Silva Should Retire

Wanderlei Silva has had a legendary career in MMA that will be sacred to fans forever...provided that he retires sooner rather than later.

Most recently, Silva defeated the enigmatic striker Cung Le in a fight that was overshadowed only by Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (although both fights still got "Fight of the Night" honors).

Is there anyone that Silva should fight next?

No, he should retire. Why? Read and find out!

His Chin Is Still Weak

Wanderlei Silva used to be able to take a shot from anybody.

Now, he gets stumbled by practically anything and gets brutally knocked out by shots from power punchers.

A win over Cung Le didn't make his chin stronger. When he gets tagged by a heavy-handed individual, he'll be out like a light and fighting the referee again.

His Age

Wanderlei Silva is 35 years old. That's middle-aged to a regular man but Silva is fighting in the UFC, the premier MMA organization in the world.

Silva is old when looked at in those terms, the miraculous feats of Randy Couture notwithstanding (compare the punishment Couture took over his career with the amount of punishment Silva took over his career).

He may have beat Cung Le (who's even older than Silva at 39 years of age), but at 35 he won't be beating many more competitors in the division.

He Has No Reason to Continue Fighting

Wanderlei Silva has seen and done it all in MMA (or at least seen and done everything that's in his ability to do).

He's had a career most fighters can only dream of and is one of the most adored legends in MMA. Why then does he need to continue fighting? He has nothing left to prove.

Further fighting only yields a greater risk of injury. The last thing we'd want to see is Wanderlei Silva wind up like Muhammad Ali.

He Won't Be Able to Compete with the Next Generation

The next generation of MMA fighters is beginning to enter the UFC.

These fighters are young, hungry and excel at all aspects of MMA. Old-school fighters like Wanderlei Silva simply have no chance against them.

Why should Silva become their stepping stone or just a feather in their cap?

He Risks Destroying His Legacy

Wanderlei Silva shouldn't let his legacy be destroyed by endless losing streaks; he shouldn't let himself become the stepping stone for the next generation (at best) or the next Ken Shamrock (at worst).