Anderson Silva may be the greatest mixed martial artist ever. And he’s 45, and has won just one fight in eight years. UFC president Dana White was not comfortable with “The Spider” fighting any longer, and released him from his contract with one fight left on it.

An obvious place to go would be ONE Championship, which has less depth from middleweight up than they do in their stacked lighter weight divisions. However, CEO Chatri Sityodtong, with the greatest respect, took a pass. 

“I am a huge Anderson Silva fan,” said Sityodtong in a statement to Fightful.com: Without a doubt, he is one of the best ever to do it. That being said, athlete safety is our number one priority at ONE Championship. As such, we will not be bidding for his services. I wish Anderson much happiness and success in whatever he chooses to do next.”

For his part, Silva believes, not irrationally, that he remains a world-class fighter.

“I feel free, after an attempt to force my retirement,” wrote Silva on his social network. “I love and have always loved what I do, winning and losing are a part of it, it has absolutely nothing to do with age, I made technical mistakes and lost, but I didn’t lose what’s most important, the will and the desire to continue doing what I love, I still have the warrior spirit and that burning flame in my heart that motivates me, I have total belief that I can continue to compete in the elite of MMA. … Stay Tuned!!!”

If this was boxing there would be a line of promoters around the globe ready to sign Silva to fight, potential dain bramage be damned, but MMA is for better and for worse a different animal. With the UFC, ONE, Bellator MMA, and the PFL all expressing concern for the aging fighter’s long-term health, where do you think Silva ends up? Taura MMA? XFC? RIZIN? Back to Cage Warriors? Or does “The Spider” switch gears and maybe box Roy Jones Jr, as he was wanted to since ever since?