When Anderson Silva’s leg snapped in half at UFC 168, it appeared his legendary MMA career might be over.
Not so fast, says Dana White.
During an appearance on Arsenio Hall’s talk show, Arsenio, the UFC president said Silva will return to competition in 2014.
“He’ll be walking before the end of the month without crutches, he’ll be training in less than six months and he’ll fight before the end of this year,” White said.
Silva underwent successful surgery after severely breaking his left leg in a loss to Chris Weidman on Dec. 28. An intramedullary rod was inserted into Silva’s left tibia and his broken fibula was stabilized without requiring separate surgery.
Recovery time for an injury like Silva’s can vary, but White went on to explain it’s not as bad as it would have been if Silva had torn his ACL since ligament tears take longer to heal than most broken bones.
The 38-year-old former middleweight champion, considered by most to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time, has expressed his desire to fight boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. in the squared circle, though White doesn’t like the idea.
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me [but] Roy Jones is like his hero and he wants to box him,” White added.
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