Anderson Silva had already cemented his UFC legacy ahead of his UFC Fight Night main event with Uriah Hall, but the former middleweight champion was trying to make one final statement in his final trip to the Octagon. The fairy tale ending wasn't to be, however, with Hall scoring a fourth-round knockout in Las Vegas' UFC Apex facility.
For much of the fight, Silva and Hall stood in front of each other, posturing and feinting while looking for openings. It made for a slow-pace to the early rounds, with rounds hinging on one or two moments. Silva -- who entered the Octagon on a 1-6 run -- tried to show flashes of his past greatness with occasional flurries, but was unable to dent the chin of Hall.
Hall slowly started to piece together the timing of Silva, leading to a big moment in Round 3. As Silva tried to push inside, Hall threw a left hand that just missed, but followed up with an overhand right that cracked Silva to the temple. Silva dropped to the canvas and Hall flurried on the ground, bouncing Silva's head off the canvas. With 10 more seconds, Hall would have gotten the stoppage, but Silva was saved by the bell.
Things didn't improve for Silva in Round 4. He tried to shake off the cobwebs from the earlier knockdown, charging forward with strikes, but Hall simply slid backward and threw a straight right hand that dropped Silva again.
This time, there would be no bell to save Silva, as Hall landed a series of hard punches on the ground that forced referee Herb Dean to stop the fight at the 1:24 mark of Round 4. The final moment of Silva's UFC career was reminiscent of his own iconic knockout of Forrest Griffin in 2009, when Silva used head movement to avoid a Griffin charge before landing a one-punch knockdown.
After the fight, Hall and Silva shared a moment, with Hall apologizing to one of his idols for the victory, saying, "I love you. I'm so sorry."
"I can't really describe it, it's just so many emotions," Hall said in his post-fight interview. "Hats off to the legend for what he's done in the sport. ... It was a lot of emotion. I know the job was to go out there and get the W, but to separate the emotions, that was work itself. I was just honored to share that moment with him."
Silva had already said the fight would be the last time he stepped in the Octagon as an active fighter, but he drove home that point in his own post-fight interview.
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"I feel, a fight is a fight," Silva said. "When you come inside, you have a 50-50 chance to win. Today, Uriah was the best. He came to win the fight and I enjoyed my moment. It's very difficult for us to stop. But, today is the final day and I'm so happy to be here and doing my last show for my fans."
However, Silva stopped short of saying that he was retired when pressed.
"I don't know," he said. "First, I'll go back home and go see with my team. Let's go see, you know, because it's tough to say it's my last or not. This is new for my entire life. Let's go see."
CBS Sports was with you the entire way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from the UFC Fight Night card.
UFC Fight Night card and results
- Uriah Hall def. Anderson Silva via fourth-round TKO (punches)
- Bryce Mitchell def. Andre Fili via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Greg Hardy def. Maurice Greene via second-round TKO (punches)
- Kevin Holland def. Charlie Ontiveros via first-round submission (verbal tap)
- Thiago Moises def. Bobby Green via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)