Anderson Silva Says Another Title Run Possible If He Has The Opportunity

The future of legendary former middleweight king Anderson “The Spider” Silva is still widely unclear after he shockingly failed multiple drug tests for anabolic steroids leading up to and after his highly-anticipated return from brutal leg injury at January’s UFC 183.

Many believed that “The Spider” would receive a lengthy suspension for his violations, but with his hearing with the Nevada State Athletic Commission being pushed back, the details of his potential punishment are still unclear. With Silva being 39 years old, and the possibility of a suspension putting him on the sidelines until he’s over the age of 40, fans believed we had seen the last of the one many consider to be the greatest of all time.

Originally saying he had not taken steroids, then planning to admit that he had, Silva, in typical Silva fashion, is back saying that he hadn’t. Speaking with MMAFighting, “The Spider” said that a lab is analyzing the tests, and he actually plans to be back in the Octagon next year:

“I will be back next year,” Silva said during a quick Q&A session with fans after a seminar in Rio de Janeiro. “We don’t know yet what’s going to happen because all the stuff I used during the treatment for my broken leg and my supplements were taken to the commission’s lab to be examined so we can find out what happened. I don’t know what happened. It was a surprise for me as well. Coming back next year was my plan anyway, so it’s normal.”

Even more shockingly, Silva also said that he’s planning on fulfilling his monster contract that he signed last year, which would see him competing for the next five years:

“That was an offer from Dana and Lorenzo,” he said. “The only serious injury I had was on my leg now. I spoke with my team, we discussed everything and saw that it was possible. We’re training now focused on fighting for five more years. I already have my schedule for the next five years. If we can fight more, two or three times a year, it’s better.”

Silva then closed out his Q&A session with a topic he’s been unsure of since he suffered his gruesome leg injury: whether or not he would make one last title run at the belt he had held for nearly seven years. At his age, and with the currently stacked middleweight division, it wouldn’t be easy, but “The Spider” claims that if the opportunity is there, he’ll take it:

“First of all, I have to earn it,” Silva said of fighting for the UFC title one more time. “The fighters who are up there earned that spot, to fight for the UFC title, and I have to conquer my space in the division again. Step by step, starting from zero. I don’t know if I will have enough time for that, but if I have the opportunity to earn it, it’s possible.”

Despite the drug test controversy, Silva doesn’t seem to be thinking about retirement in the least bit. Do you think we’ll ever see this historic icon in the Octagon again?