With the conversation of the greatest of all time being super relevant right now, some people have Anderson Silva at the top of their list. However he does not consider himself the GOAT, and has a surprising view on the whole discussion.
The legendary career of Silva will be coming to an end this weekend, when the 45-year old faces Uriah Hall in his retirement bout. This has been a long time coming, as he has not looked the same since losing the middleweight title in 2013. It has left many newer fans of the sport unaware of the incredible resume he has, with the longest title reign in UFC history and a slew of beautifully dominating highlight reel finishes throughout his career.
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Anderson Silva Does Not Consider Himself The GOAT
With Khabib Nurmagomedov apparently retiring, there has been a lot of talk over who the GOAT is in MMA, with most people settling with Khabib, Jon Jones, GSP, or Anderson Silva. However the former middleweight champ does not think that he is deserving of this accolade. Speaking in an interview with ESPN ahead of his retirement fight this weekend, Anderson explained that he does not consider himself the GOAT, presenting an interesting outlook on the whole debate.
“In MMA I think we don’t have a best ever or greatest of all time,” Silva explained. “Because every single moment and every single time there comes a new challenge, and new athletes. For me martial arts proves one thing: there is no best ever. (If you say) Jon Jones, that’s okay I respect that. People say Georges St. Pierre, that’s okay I respect that. People say that about Khabib, I respect it. But for me, I’m not the best. I just try to do the best I can in martial arts.”
This is a humble approach to the GOAT conversation from Anderson Silva. Regardless of how you feel about the debate, and no matter how his final fight goes this weekend, he truly is one of the best ever.
