Silva, 41, is still fighting to win back his title
Formerly dominant middleweight carries on despite a recent run of defeats.
NEW YORK — Anderson Silva made his case as the most gifted fighter in UFC history by dominating the middleweight division for seven years.
The inevitability of age and slower reflexes has clearly struck, though, forcing Silva to come to terms with a closing chapter that may not include regaining his old title belt.
Silva’s legend is such that it elevates him to co-mainevent status Saturday night at UFC 208 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in a non-title bout against No. 8-ranked middleweight Derek Brunson.
Silva, 41, jumped to the UFC’s highlight reel with a 2011 knockout kick to Vitor Belfort’s face that came straight from “The Matrix” and a 2010 final-round maneuver that forced a choked Chael Sonnen to tap out.
Silva claimed 16 consecutive victories during his reign with seven “knockout of the night” bonuses and two more for “submission of the night.”
Yet, the Brazilian hasn’t won since losing his middleweight belt by knockout to Chris Weidman in 2013.
His 0-4-1 skid includes a no-contest caused by a positive test for a performanceenhancing substance after an apparent victory over Nick Diaz. And, counting Saturday’s bout, Silva has five more fights remaining on his contract.
“I proved for a long time how much I’ve given of my heart and of my time to the UFC,” Silva said to a reporter at a public workout Thursday before turning to fans and telling them, “I come to fight because I love to fight. It’s my life.
“Maybe one day, I’ll get one more chance to fight for the belt, but it’s OK [if I don’t].”
Part of the explanation for his winless streak is that Silva (33-8) has taken the best fights possible.
He suffered a disputed loss by decision in England to Michael Bisping after an apparent knockout blow by Silva was denied, and in July he accepted a fight against light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier on two days’ notice, going the distance.
Silva also suffered a grotesquely broken leg on a checked kick in the Weidman rematch and could have retired, but he told a confidant that he couldn’t give up the thrill. “Have you ever skydived?” Silva asked. “Fighting for me is like skydiving without the parachute.”
He accepted the Brunson fight on short notice too, taking on an aggressive puncher to help boost interest in a payper-view card that is headlined by the debut women’s featherweight title fight between Holly Holm and Germaine De Randamie.
“Time is important for training,” Silva said of his minimal preparation for Saturday’s bout. “But I know I’m crazy. My coach [said], ‘You train one month in 10 days. You crazy. But OK, you take the fight. … Derek is no problem for you. But next time, please more time.’ ”
Silva, ranked No. 7 among middleweights, said he told his trainer, “Come on, this is my life. I love my job. I go to fight because this is me.”
He said a deeper commitment to his family, with five children, provides contentment without the UFC belt. “Now, I change my focus. [It’s not] too much important how [many] fights I lost, how [many] fights I win. I just put in my heart, do my best, and go to fight happy.”
The enthusiasm that he feels for fighting, he says, could keep him in the sport for five more years.
A victory Saturday over Brunson (16-4) would boost Silva’s attempt to get the rematch he seeks with Bisping, should the champion defeat Cuban Yoel Romero in a fight expected in the spring.
Another match that intrigues Silva is a date against lightweight champion Conor McGregor, a charismatic Irishman whose popularity and stand-up fighting skill have led to McGregor’s seeking a boxing match against retired unbeaten boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.
About a decade ago, Silva pushed the UFC to let him box former light-heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. It never happened. “This is the great fight for the rest of my life,” Silva said. “And the best story in the UFC.”