Claudio Silva has been absent from the UFC Octagon for 4 years. He made a triumphant return last night at UFC Liverpool.
Silva dealt with an eye injury, had four foot surgeries after fracturing both feet, and also injured his biceps. He eventually found himself weighing 231 pounds and unable to do MMA.
“I thought doctors had done something wrong during the foot surgery and had ended my life, that they had ended my career,” Silva told MMA Fighting. “I was in so much pain. I was walking back home from training one day and an old man stopped his car and asked if I wanted a ride because I appeared to be in so much pain.”
“I felt like I was in jail, exiled,” Silva said. “I was in the best time of my career and I was forced to stop because of injuries. It was so frustrating to watch the UFC and not be able to fight that I started eating nonstop until I got to 231 pounds. Everyone thought I would never fight again. I was asked to stop fighting, and that gave me even more motivation to come back. I will make up for the time I lost. I want to fight twice more this year. I can’t wait to get to the top.”
Coming back from a three-and-a-half year hiatus at age 35? No problem! Cláudio Silva cranks the tap out of Nordine Taleb with some crushing jaw constriction, scoring his seventh submission and extending his winning streak to 12. #UFCLiverpool pic.twitter.com/X7GuCb6jYy
— Kyle Johnson (@Maldobabo) May 27, 2018
Claudio Silva moves to 12-1 MMA, 3-0 in the UFC. Nordine Taleb is now 14-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC.
