Ed Soares Believes Anderson Silva Will Fight Again, Has Options for Opponent

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Anderson Silva suffered a brutal injury when his leg snapped during his December rematch against Chris Weidman, but manager Ed Soares thinks he will recover to fight again.

“I believe he’ll make a 100-percent recovery and I believe he’ll be back, but right now the main thing is just making sure he’s OK,” Soares told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “I do believe he’ll be back. We’ll just have to see when and how the recovery is coming along.”

So far, so good. Soares said the former UFC middleweight champion is in good spirits after having a titanium rod inserted in his leg the day after the fight.

“It was a successful surgery, and hopefully within the next month he’ll be walking around without crutches,” Soares said.

The injury happened early in the second round, as Weidman checked an inside leg kick to give him a second win over Silva. Regarded by many as the greatest fighter ever, the 38-year-old Brazilian has nothing left to prove, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to walk away from the sport just yet.

“Whatever he wants to do, he’s going to be able to do it,” Soares said. “If he wants to come back, he’s going to come back and be the Anderson Silva that he always has been. Take nothing away from Chris Weidman. He went out there and he beat Anderson twice, but like you said, they were a little bit controversial ways to win, but it is what it is. Hats off to Chris Weidman. Right now our main focus is not if [Silva is] going to come back, when he’s going to come back -- it’s just getting him back.”

Soares has already mentioned Georges St. Pierre as a possible opponent if Silva returns, and although it made headlines, the manager said he was just answering a question and hadn’t necessarily been thinking about GSP.

“I mean, GSP’s definitely an option, but like we always say, who knows?” Soares explained. “At the end of the day, Dana [White] and Lorenzo [Fertitta] decide -- if Anderson decides to come back. There’s a few options. It could be him. It could be who knows, a Michael Bisping? It could be even a Chris Weidman because at the end of the day, people look at Chris Weidman’s two wins -- and in a way it’s almost unfortunate for Chris -- but like you said, they are controversial wins. Who knows? Maybe even a rematch if it came up would make sense, but like I said, at this point in time I still feel it’s too early to talk about that.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:02:55).