Anderson Silva has officially signed a deal for 10 more UFC fights.
After his win against Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153 on October 13, Silva and his management confirmed that “the Spider” had two fights left on his current deal. They also said that they would be discussing an extension with the UFC.
UFC President Dana White confirmed Saturday night that Silva’s terms had been reached and that he was willing to offer the champion even more fights if he wanted them.
White said, “Ten. He signed a 10-fight deal. I don’t think we’ve ever done a 10-fight deal. Maybe we did one with Forrest [Griffin] once, I don’t remember, but Anderson said, ‘I want a 10-fight deal, not an eight-fight deal.’ I’ll give him a 100-fight deal if he wants one.”
Ten more fights will likely take three years, which would put the 37-year-old champion around 40 if he decides to leave the Octagon once the deal is done. While he is toward the top of the list of the oldest fighters in UFC, he is the most dominant champion in the sport’s history, having gone undefeated since 2006 for the longest win and title defense streak.
Silva’s victory over Bonnar was his 16th consecutive win. His win against Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 on July 7 was his 10th consecutive title defense. White has called him the “greatest mixed martial artist ever,” and he has been widely ranked as the number one middleweight in the world.
Looking forward, Silva may be entering the Octagon against Michael Bisping if the Brit defeats Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7. And there is still the possibility of a superfight against welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre or light heavyweight champion Jon Jones .