Sakakibara confirms past talks with Anderson Silva, ‘doors open’ for legends’ retirement fights in RIZIN

[Edge Guerrero]

By Guilherme Cruz @guicruzzz Dec 21, 2023, 7:00pm EST

RIZIN Fighting Federation is the Japanese MMA organization that Anderson Silva was referring to when he revealed to MMA Fighting in June that he was “in talks” with for his retirement bout, company president Nobuyuki Sakakibara confirmed.

Sakakibara, who was the head of PRIDE when Silva went 3-2 in the promotion, told MMA Fighting that “our doors are always open” for the former UFC middleweight champion if he decides to compete one final time in MMA.

“Anderson has fought for us – our relationship goes way back,” Sakakibara said through a translator. “To answer your question, yes, we have spoken, but…you know, for us, if he has some ideas, and if we really want to do something, our doors are always open, we’re always here to listen. If things make sense, we’ll always put something together.”

Silva hasn’t fought MMA since parting ways with the UFC in 2020 following a stoppage loss to Uriah Hall. Back in June, Silva said fighting in Japan “makes all the sense,” because “I started my career internationally there, so we probably want to it end there, too.”

The Brazilian legend, who is 34-11 with one no-contest in MMA, was inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame after collecting boxing victories over Julio César Chávez Jr. and Tito Ortiz. In his most recent appearance in October 2020, Silva lost a decision to YouTube sensation Jake Paul.

“We do have a relationship with Anderson,” Sakakibara said. “I can’t really talk about details, but if the opportunity is there and if it makes sense, we’re always open to making things happen.”

The same rule applies for other legends of the game, such as Fedor Emelianenko. “The Last Emperor,” a former PRIDE heavyweight champion, entered the RIZIN ring in 2015 for his return from retirement to knock out Jaideep Singh before signing with Bellator. After challenging Ryan Bader for the Bellator belt earlier this year, Emelianenko announced he’s walking away from the sport.

“One of our concepts that RIZIN has is to provide a platform for the legendary fighters to perform their final fight, to kind of show them the way out with respect, so that’s definitely one of our concepts,” Sakakibara said when asked about possibly offering a deal to Emelianenko to compete in front of an Japanese audience. “We’re not going to get rid of that concept right away.

“Obviously, if Takanori Gomi decides to retire, and if he wants to do a retirement fight, we’ll be happy to book that, we’ll be happy to show that and provide that platform opportunity for that fighter,” he added. “Our concept always have had that, to reaching out to the legendary fighters. One day we might just put together a matchup that would definitely cater and make the old school fans all excited. There’s definitely a possibility for that in the future.”

RIZIN’s next event is scheduled for Dec. 31 in Saitama, Japan, with two titles on the line. Kyoji Horiguchi will rematch Makoto Shinryu for the vacant flyweight strap in the co-main event of RIZIN 45, while Juan Archuleta puts his bantamweight title on the line for the first time versus Kai Asakura.

https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/12/21/24009608/nobuyuki-sakakibara-anderson-silva-fedor-emelianenko-legends-retirement-fights-rizin