At UFC Vegas 12 in October, Anderson Silva fought the final fight of his UFC career, losing by TKO to Uriah Hall in the fourth round of an otherwise competitive contest. During the leadup to the bout, the narrative centered around it being Silva’s retirement fight, though “The Spider” himself never confirmed he would be hanging up the gloves. However, following the bout, UFC President Dana White said he regretted allowing Silva that swan song fight and that he would never book Anderson to fight again, and just a few weeks later, the UFC officially parted ways with one of its greatest champions.

Now a free agent, this past weekend Silva addressed his release from the UFC and declared that wanted to continue “doing what I love”. There’s only one small problem though: Silva seems to be having a hard time finding a place to ply his trade.

Following his departure from the UFC, many of the top promotions in the sport have publicly said they aren’t interested in signing the MMA legend. The heads of PFL, One Championship, and even Bare Knuckle FC have distanced themselves from a possible Silva signing, and even Bellator CEO Scott Coker, a man who has put consistently promoted aging legends of the sport, seems cool to the idea.

“I have a lot of respect for him,” Coker told MMA Junkie. “He’s definitely one of the greatest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts. I really haven’t thought about it, but I think I’m happy with the way our roster is heading and the fighters that we have now. I think that’s my statement on that.”

The well is drying up quickly of possible suitors for Silva, so much so in fact that Silva’s most famous foe believes this will be the end of the line for “The Spider”.

“No, I don’t think we’ll see him fight again because I think those promotions are telling the truth,” Chael Sonnen told James Lynch. “I think there’s a much better way to go about it than the way that he went about it. I don’t think you should come out and just offer your services somewhere. I think that you should have a finished product. He should have found a very specific opponent, taken it to the audience first to make sure the audience wanted it, then added some flames to it, and then dropped it in a promoter’s lap.”

Sonnen didn’t stop with criticizing Silva though. Though Sonnen and Silva were bitter rivals at one time, “The American Gangster” still respects Silva’s status in the sport and also took shots at the promoters who have proactively said they aren’t interested Silva’s services.

“That was a scummy move, by the way,” Sonnen said. “That was a real slimy move from a lot of those promotions. First off, they weren’t asked the question, so they took a shot at a guy who they would’ve loved to have at a period of time (but) who didn’t want to come over there, made a decision, hung his hat somewhere else, and are now looking to get some cheap heat, make themselves look like they’re above Anderson by refusing a guy who hasn’t even offered his services. It was a little bit of a slimy move, not to mention it was cold-hearted. To say you don’t want a guy, it’s just a mean thing to do.”

It may not be the nicest thing to do, but it also may not be wrong, either. Silva is 45 years old and is 1-6 and 1 no-contest since losing his middleweight title in 2013, with that one win being a controversial decision over Derek Brunson. Perhaps this is how Silva’s career ends, not with a bang but with a whimper.

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VIDEO STEW

What the Heck?

The A-Side Live Chat.

Fighters to know for this weekend.

Tony looking for a fight.

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LISTEN UP

Heavy Hands. Discussing the UFC’s flyweight divisions and Curtis Blaydes.

UFC Unfiltered. Interviews with Anthony Smith and Curtis Blaydes.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Thanksgiving.

Bryce Mitchell coming in hot.

Shade.

Fishing.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

N/A.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Hope those who celebrated had a great Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for all of you, even the numerous ones of you who hate my work.

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EXIT POLL

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