Despite being 38 years old and fighting an average of two fights a year for the last four years, Anderson Silva will fight out the entirety of his 10-fight contract.
Silva’s manager, Ed Soares, recently told Inside MMA that the fighter will fulfill his contract with the UFC.
“[Anderson] will fight out the nine fights on his contract, but his next fight will be against Chris Weidman,” Soares said.
By doing the math, using the average number of fights that Silva has been in since 2009, “The Spider” will compete in the Octagon well into his 40s.
Silva wouldn’t be the first fighter to compete into their middle age. Randy Couture, for example, won the UFC heavyweight title at age 43. He last competed in the UFC at age 47, a loss to Lyoto Machida.
Other fighters have experienced less success in their 40s, most notably Mark Coleman, who went 1-2 as a 40-something in the Octagon.
Silva’s next fight will take place at UFC 168 on Dec. 28, when he’ll get another crack at Chris Weidman for the middleweight title.