Ex-UFC fighter Erick Silva confirms MMA retirement, says heart attack was ‘decisive point’ to end career

UFC and Bellator veteran Erick Silva hasn’t competed in MMA in more than three years. It turns out that was the last time he’ll be seen inside a cage.

Silva, 38, has confirmed to Brazilian outlet Globo that he is retired. Silva said the decision was made last year after he suffered a heart attack, which he believes could’ve been a delayed effect from a serious bout with COVID-19 in April 2020.

“In June 2021, I had a heart attack,” Silva said, according to Google Translate. “I didn’t train for a year-and-a-half, and I went to train with Joilton Peregrino, and I put in a lot of effort. We did a five-round workout, and I started to feel a pain in my chest. This pain confused me a lot with muscle fatigue. I didn’t understand what was happening, so much so that I went home, played with my son in the pool despite the pain and only relieved it with breathing work. It relieved but didn’t stop. So I took the car and went to the hospital alone. There, we did the tests. My cardiac enzymes were very high, and I was hospitalized. …

“I stayed in the ICU for a week, and my cardiologist said that it could probably have been a sequel of COVID-19, because a thrombus was found in the coronary artery, and that was preventing the flow of blood afterwards. I was still for a while, then I did my routine exams, and it was found that the anatomy of my heart was perfect. But that fact was a decisive point for me not to fight anymore.”

Erick Silva before what would be the final fight of his career at Bellator 223.

Silva (20-11) spent more than six years with the UFC from 2011 to 2017, compiling a record of 7-8 in that span. Despite his sub-.500 record, Silva has the fourth-most submissions in UFC welterweight history and is tied for third-most fight night bonuses in the division.

After fighting out his UFC contract in December 2017, Silva moved on to fight for LFA once (a submission win over Nick Barnes) followed by a two-fight Bellator stint in 2019.

Silva lost a unanimous decision to eventual 170-pound champion Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 216 and another unanimous decision to Paul Daley, his final fight, at Bellator 223.