A former Pride middleweight champion, Silva, 38, said the UFC tried to get him to accept a fight when he wasn’t healthy earlier this year. He accused the No. 1 fight promotion of not respecting its athletes in general and paying them “crumbs.”
“For those reasons, I come here with a very heavy weight in my heart,” Silva said. “Today is a very sad day for me. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep being treated this way. I am stepping down from the ring. After today, Wanderlei Silva will not fight again. My career is over because I don’t have the stage to perform where athletes get the proper respect.”
UFC officials declined comment to ESPN.com.