Dana White says UFC 234 fight could be the last for Anderson Silva

This Saturday at UFC 234 could be the last time we see Anderson Silva in the octagon.

That’s according to UFC President Dana White who told TMZ, that if Silva is knocked out by Israel Adesanya in their middleweight co-main event matchup, it could be the end of the road for “The Spider.”

“I don’t know. I would probably imagine [it would be the end],” White told TMZ when asked what would happen if Silva was knocked out. “But, who knows with this guy.”

Anderson Silva (34-8, NC) will step into the octagon for the first time since Mar. 2017. The former UFC middleweight champion was slated to face current title challenge Kelvin Gastelum twice that year, however the second time he was flagged by USADA ahead of UFC Fight Night 122. The Brazilian Hall of Famer is set to turn 44 in April and has only won once in his last six fights. Despite talk of retirement from the UFC President, he’s also mentioned that the winner of this matchup will get the next middleweight title shot.

Israel Adesanya (15-0) made his UFC debut in Feb. 2017 and amassed an impressive 4-0 record so far with the Las Vegas based promotion. “The Style Bender” is coming off a first-round TKO victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 230 in November. The 29-year-old has finished 11 of his last 13 opponents heading into Saturday’s showdown. The New Zealand native has dispatched Rob Wilkinson, Marvin Vettori, Brad Tavares and Brunson in his UFC career so far. He also holds a win over UFC veteran Melvin Guillard in July 2017, who he finished in the first round.

UFC 234 takes place this Saturday at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. In the main event Robert Whittaker defends his middleweight title against Kelvin Gastelum.

Do you think this will be the last time we see Anderson Silva fight?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/6/2019.