There are two things for sure in 42-year-old Wanderlei Silva’s future. One, he is fighting Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on Sept. 29 at Bellator 206 in San Jose, Calif. Two, he is officially running for office in Brazil.
Disheartened by the corrupt political landscape of Brazil, Silva had talked about potentially running for a position as a federal deputy in the Chamber of Deputies, which is similar to the U.S. House of Representatives. He has moved full speed ahead and confirmed his candidacy recently on Instagram.
Silva told MMAFighting that, whether or not he won the electoral campaign, his fight with Rampage Jackson might be his final bout.
“I’m facing this as maybe it is my last fight,” Silva said. “I will run for federal deputy now. It’s a new career, a new time in my life. I’m seeing the need for it. There are guys being elected that have no business being there, a bunch of poor guys, dishonest guys that steal from the people. You have to put guys that have an ideal and already have money to live so they don’t need to steal from the people.
“I will do this fight and then I’ll run for congress and if I get elected, I’ll go one direction, and if I don’t get elected, I’ll go another one. But the intention is that maybe this is my last fight. … I think that being elected or not, maybe this is my last fight. I’ve done enough. But there are a lot of people coming back. I think that my performance will say if it’s my last one or not.”
TRENDING > Anderson Silva: ‘I Think Khabib Nurmagomedov is the Best’ Fighter in the World
Bellator, in particular, has signed a lot of fighters in the sunset of their careers over the past few years. Silva joins Jackson and the likes of Chael Sonnen, Fedor Emelianenko, and others that appear to be fighting their final bouts under the Bellator banner.
