Bruno Silva may never fight again after being released by UFC, and he’s fine with that.
“Blindado” knew that losing his UFC 315 middleweight clash with Marc-Andre Barriault would mean his exit from the promotion since it was a last chance given by matchmaker Mick Maynard, and he ended up suffering the first knockout defeat of his career.
Silva was actually carried out of the octagon on a stretcher following the brutal knockout loss but was feeling better just hours later.
Back to Curitiba, Brazil, where he trained under veteran coach Andre Dida, Silva decided to pause his career for a couple of years and not think about competing.
“Maybe I come back, maybe not. But if I don’t come back, I’m also at peace,” Silva said on a video posted on his social media on Wednesday. “I did everything I was there to be done. I was always very responsible with my career. I’ve dedicated the most. There’s no ‘what if’ in my head. In my head, I’ve done the best I could. So I’m relieved. My history, my legacy was written.”
Silva announced he plans to leave his current residence to move back to his hometown Cajazeiras to be close to his mother, and feels blessed have a family around him more than a decade after moving to Curitiba to become a professional fighter.
“I won’t say I’m ending my career because I haven’t ended it. I don’t know yet,” Silva said. “But I’ll pause it. A cycle is ending here in Curitiba after 11 years training with my coach ‘Dida’, a friend to me. I’m going back to the Northeast. I promised my mom I would only go back when I was set for life, and I’m privileged that God has given me the opportunity to go back home with my mother alive. I left home in Cajazeiras in 2013, going after my dreams, and fulfilled them all with my mom well, happy, healthy. My brother, my nephews growing up, my daughter. I have so much more to do in life.”
Silva (23-13) entered the UFC in 2021 after scoring four knockouts in a row, including successful trips to Russia to beat Alexander Shlemenko and Artem Frolov, and won his first three in the octagon by knockout to set up a fight with future champion Alex Pereira.
“Blindado” went toe to toe with “Poatan” for 15 minutes but ultimately lost a decision, and then fell in his following match to Gerald Meerschaert. Silva rebounded with a first-round knockout against Brad Tavares before losing his next five.
Silva turns 36 in July and was very open about his mental health struggles over the past few years, and now hopes that his story inspires others to persevere in life.
“If the fire still burns in my heart and I’m healed from the panic attacks, I’ll go back to fighting in two years,” Silva said. “There are many forms. I would like to box professionally. There’s PFL, there’s ONE, there are many promotion that would accept me. But right now I’m disconnecting a bit. My life will still be active in training because I love training, this is my therapy, my lifestyle. I practice sports since I was a kid and this is my life. God put angels in my life and I want God to continue using me to be light at people’s lives and help them. I want my story to go over generations helping people believe their dreams, regardless of what their careers are.”
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