Wanderlei Silva Inks Deal With BKFC

Mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Wanderlei Silva’s fighting days aren’t over just yet. Silva will put down his gloves and instead fight bare-knuckle moving forward.

FanSided reports that the 43-year-old has signed a contract with the Bare-Knuckle FC (BKFC) promotion. No opponent or date for Silva’s BKFC debut has been revealed, but an announcement is expected during their next event. Silva holds an MMA record of 35-14-1 and hasn’t fought since September of last year where he suffered a second-round TKO loss to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at Bellator 206.

Currently on a two-fight losing streak in MMA, Silva hasn’t tasted victory since his 2013 win over Brian Stann, who he knocked out in the second round of their UFC on Fuel TV meeting. Venturing into bare-knuckle boxing is an odd decision from Silva, considering he recently suggested he’s suffering from several signs of CTE.

“I was in a lecture about concussion and of the 10 symptoms the guy mentioned, I had eight,” Silva said in a recent interview with the Brazilian website PVT (h/t MMA Fighting). “The symptoms would be, for example, mood swings, getting angry very fast, forgetting some things, having difficulty sleeping.”

What do you think about Silva taking part in bare-knuckle boxing?