Anderson Silva explained why he is done with MMA, saying that “it’s hard to stay training at a good level because you hurt yourself a lot.”

Silva is one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time and was a huge star in the UFC for nearly 15 years. However, after losing by knockout to Uriah Hall last fall, he was released by UFC president Dana White. Silva has since resurfaced in boxing, and he will take on Julio Cesar Chavez this summer in a high-profile boxing match. Silva has had two professional boxing matches earlier in his career and he has always made it clear he wanted to box again. Now that he’s not under UFC contract, he can do just that.

Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Silva said that he believes his MMA career is completely done. For Silva, it became hard for him to train without getting injuries and he believes that he has made the right call in making the move to boxing. Although Silva says he still trains in MMA because he enjoys it, he doesn’t believe that he will step into the cage again.

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“I think MMA for me is done. It’s hard to stay training at a good level because you hurt yourself a lot. Now, I just try to enjoy. I don’t need to prove nothing for anybody. I just try to enjoy every single moment,” Silva said.

Silva is certainly one of the greatest fighters to ever step into the cage, so he leaving the sport a big loss. But considering he is in his upper 40s now, perhaps he is making the right call to take a leave from MMA, although boxing poses many dangers in itself as well.

Are you excited to see Anderson Silva fight Julio Cesar Chavez in boxing, or do you wish there was a way he could have stuck around MMA?