When Anderson Silva suffered a horrific leg break vs. Chris Weidman at UFC 168 on December 28, 2013, his eldest son Kalyl, then 15, said he hoped ‘The Spider’ would retire.

Got show respect to Chris for going out there and fighting like a champ,” wrote Kalyl, via Instagram. “Congrats Chris.. is your turn to be a legend.. all the Silva haters out there go party and don’t come talk to me, it ain’t my fault.. but ya’ll do whatever yall wanna do… hopefuly he retires and come home.. cuz I’m tired of my dad training all day, and going away for 2 or 3 months… a broken leg happens… and as always, you are MY champion dad.. and again good job Chris.

As Silva recovered from the injury, he said he would consult with his family about a potential return, and would not unless they agreed to. Kalyl evidently had a change of heart, and Silva fought on.

Silva beat Nick Diaz via unanimous decision, but it was changed to a No Contest after Silva tested positive for drostanolone and androsterone. Then Silva lost a unanimous decision to Michael Bisping, who went on to take the title.

Prior to the losses to Weidman, Silva had the longest title streak in UFC history, with 16 consecutive wins and 10 title defenses, across 2,457 days. He is 0-4-0, with one NC his last five. But the latest win was actually an indelible sign of his greatness.

When UFC interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was pulled from UFC 200 after a drug test was flagged for abnormalities, Silva stepped in just seven weeks after gall bladder surgery. He did no training for the fight.

And he took the UFC light heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier, to the distance. In fact, Cormier looked worried.

So despite being 41, Anderson Silva is still firmly in the game, just three fights into a 15-fight contract. And there may be another Silva on the way up. The same Kalyl who at 15 was hoping his dad was done now has some size on him, and his father’s signature long limbs, and some of his father’s flash, as seen in this video of the pair sparring.

Note, Kalyl was wearing boxing footwear, so this was not kickboxing or mixed martial arts sparring. Hopefully some of that is to follow. And Kalyl’s siblings Kaory, Gabriel, Kauana and Joao Vitor, might yet show some promise as well.