UFC fighter Bruno Silva recently suffered a loss at the just-concluded UFC308, and he’s thinking about taking some time off to rest and heal.
The fighter squared up against Ismail Naurdiev in a middleweight bout but lost via unanimous decision. After his loss, Silva released a statement talking about his struggle with anxiety and some of the problems he had during his preparation for UFC 308.
“I’m a man that always dedicates hard to his professional and personal life,” Silva said in Portuguese. “I’m very happy in my personal life and fulfilled as a man, but there’s been a few years that I have dealt with a strong anxiety crisis inside the octagon. Those who don’t know, you feel like drowning. You’re tired and powerless, and all you want is not to be in that octagon. When the first round ended [at UFC 308], the crisis came, and I was very tired. It felt like my heart would come out of my mouth, and I felt bad. I lost my focus entirely. In my mind, I just want to get out of there, you know?”
The fighter revealed he had been struggling with these issues for years, and they gradually got worse after each fight and defeat. After his losses and bouncebacks, the fighter finally decided to get professional help and has advised fighters facing such issues also to seek help. He disclosed he will take a break and focus on taking care of himself.
“I went to a psychiatrist and started taking medication, did heart exams, and there was nothing,” Silva said. “And now, I was doing great. I did all the work, did yoga to calm down and everything, but some fights are hard. Some fights are harder than those in the octagon. Fights with our body, our mind, our heart.”
Silva said he will now focus on taking care of himself as a person, leave the fighter aside for a bit, and put his career on pause.
“I have a life ahead of me and won’t fight again like this,” Silva said. “I don’t know how my situation will be in the UFC, if I’m going to be released or not. In case I’m not, I’ll ask for a break. I need some time. And, I need to check on my body, I need time for myself. I had 10 fights [in three years], I’m one of the most active fighters in the UFC, so I need to take care of myself.”
Silva was previously banned from active competition for six months for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy. The 35-year-old’s suspension ended this month, and he is now on a four-fight losing streak with his defeat at UFC 308.
“To those who like me and those who are embarrassed, ask for help,” he continued. “Don’t be embarrassed. People will criticise no matter what, so get help. This is my message to you that is going through problems. Ask for help. Talk about it. Thank God I don’t have depression, but this is affecting my career and my work, and I’ll only fight again. You’ll only see me in the octagon again when I’m healed when I’m well. Fighting like this is too much. It makes me feel bad as a man. I’m devastated to go back home like this. But this is part of life, right?
“I’ve had a victorious career, and now I’m going through a delicate moment. I think I need patience and faith to move forward because life isn’t only about fighting. I have a life as a person, I’m a family man and I need to be well to go back home and put food on the table for my family and people I love. You may think all you want, that I need to change teams and everything, it’s your right. The work was done, but I am the problem. I can go anywhere in the world, the problem is inside me, so I need to get help now. It’s God, myself and a professional to help me now.”
