Former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva earned a controversial decision victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 208.
Silva, who is 41 years old, believes that all that’s in front of him for his next fight s the challenge it provides.
“I’m waiting for my next challenge in the cage,” Silva after the fight “But now, I need to rest a little bit. I’m old.”
Silva is also the longest reigning UFC Middleweight Champion in the promotions history, but he technically only has one win in the last four-plus years.
While many, including UFC President Dana White, believe Brunson should have won the fight over Silva, the former middleweight champion sees things differently.
“I think I was more technical, and I moved more,” Silva said. “In the last round, my opponent put me on the ground. But I was more offensive, and I attacked more. This is a good question for the judges. I have just one thing to say: I’m so happy, because first of all, I love fighting. Second, sometimes when different people talk to me and say, ‘Why don’t you stop? You don’t need to prove anything.’ I respond, ‘This is my air. This is my heart. Fighting is my life.' When I go inside the cage, I’m back to being 30 years old and happy, because this is my life.”
Silva has competed as both a middleweight and as a light heavyweight in the UFC, his lone loss at light heavyweight came to Daniel Cormier at UFC 200.
