"He will never be the same fighter. He'll never. I really like and respect and admire him, but I don't think he will ever be 100-percent the old Anderson Silva. It was a terrible injury. He'll always start thinking, what if it happens again? But that's the name of the game. You cannot avoid it. Sometimes it just happens," - these are the words from Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic after hearing that renowned MMA fighter Anderson Silva will fight again.
Cro Cop is referring to the freaking injury that Silva sustained while on the octagon fighting Chris Weidman at the UFC 168. ESPN's consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighter didn't just lost in the rematch, he also broke his leg in the goriest way, witnessed by the whole world.
Filipovic, of all people, has all the rights to speak that way on Silva's future. He himself experienced the worst of the worst when it comes to MMA. At 39 years old, he tried to come out of retirement last year and battled Oleksiy Oliynyk. He lost in the first round of that match via submission. The Croatian fighter is not just looking at Silva's injury and form, he is also looking at the mental capability and stability of the Spider.
"It'll always leave a scar in his mind, and even physically," he said.
He also thought about his future in the sport by reflecting on Silva's situation.
"I'm 39 already, and how long (do) I still think to fight? I don't know. I said many times that any fight could be my last one. And it's [like that] for everyone. Just remember what happened to Anderson Silva, that terrible injury he got. Unbelievable. Boom, completely broken."
While Filipovic is pessimistic about Silva's return, the latter is very much motivated.
On March 1, the 36-year old fighter posted Video on Instagram. This is his way of announcing that he will definitely return.
https://instagram.com/p/lA5YekCMih/
What do you think readers? Does Anderson Silva still has something to prove?