Anderson Silva suffers yet another heartbreaker

MANILA, Philippines — Is the mixed martial arts journey of legendary Brazilian fighter Anderson Silva nearing its end?

In another heartbreaking result, the former long-time Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder suffered a leg injury caused by a kick and lost to Jared Cannonier via a first-round technical knockout before a partisan Rio de Janerio, Brazil crowd at UFC 237 yesterday.

It was the second leg injury for the 44-year-old Sao Paulo native in six years after breaking a leg during a 2013 title loss to Chris Weidman.

It also sent Silva, who was once considered the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world during his prime, to his second straight defeat and 10th overall against 34 victories with 1 NC (No Contest).

During his return from his gruesome leg injury in 2013, the fighter known as “The Spider” went 1-6 (win-loss) with 1 NC in which he failed drug tests twice.

The heartbreaking setback was particularly damaging to Silva’s UFC future as he was reportedly negotiating a new contract with the biggest fight outfit in the world entering his showdown with Cannonier.

The 35-year-old Cannonier, a native of Dallas, Texas known as “The Killa Gorilla,” claimed his second straight triumph and 12th overall against four defeats while boosting his stock in the middleweight division ruled by Robert Whittaker.