Bruno Silva will never fight again after being released by the UFC. He’s fine with that.
“Luinkid” knew that losing the UFC 315 middleweight collision with Mark Andre Baria Alto meant escape from the promotion as it was a last chance by matchmaker Mick Maynard.
Silva was actually carried out of the octagon on a stretcher following a brutal knockout loss, but after a few hours he felt better.
Returning to Kuritiba in Brazil, trained under veteran coach Andre Dida, Silva decided to suspend his career for several years and not think about competition.
“Maybe I’ve returned, but if I don’t come back, I’ll be at peace too,” Silva said in a video posted on his social media on Wednesday. “I did everything I was there. I was always very responsible for my career. I was the most devoted. There’s no ‘what’ in my mind. I did everything I could in my head.
Silva plans to leave his current residence and return to his hometown of Kajaziras to be near his mother, and feels he is blessed to have a family around him more than a decade after moving to Kuritiba and becoming a professional fighter.
“I’m not going to say I’m finishing my career because I haven’t finished it. I don’t know yet,” Silva said. “But I’ll pause it. After 11 years of training with my friend, coach “Dida”, I’ll end here with Curitiba. I’m going back northeast. I promised that I would only return when I was appointed for the rest of my life. My daughter, raised nephew.
Silva (23-13) entered the UFC in 2021, winning the first three octagons in knockouts, after scoring four consecutive knockouts, including a successful trip to Russia, beating Alexander Schremenko and Artem Frolov, before entering the UFC in 2021, winning the first three octagons in knockouts, and starting his battle with future champion Alex Pereira.
“Blandado” went toe toe on “Poatan” for 15 minutes, but eventually lost his decision and then fell into his match against Gerald Maeschart. Silva rebounded with a first-round knockout against Brad Tavares before losing the next five.
Silva turned 36 in July and has been very open about his mental health struggles over the past few years.
“If the fire is still burning in my mind and I’m relieved from a panic attack, I’ll return to the fight in two years,” Silva said. “There are a lot of shapes. I want to box as a pro. I have PFL. There is one. There are a lot of promotions that accept me. But now I’m a bit of a disconnect. My life is active in training. People believe in their dreams, regardless of what their career is.”