Anderson Silva recalls scare due to back pain: 'I thought I would be paralyzed'

A. Silva (photo) returns to the UFC in January. Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

The long-awaited return of Anderson Silva the UFC suffered a scare at the beginning of the month, when the former middleweight champion had to be admitted to hospital after experiencing severe back pain during a training session in Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Now, having recovered, the fighter admitted that he feared for his health, as the episode represented something he had never experienced before.

“I couldn’t move or feel my legs and feet. I was terrified, I had never experienced anything like this. I couldn't believe it when I had this back pain. I thought I was going to be paralyzed”, said Anderson, in an interview with the website “ Veja Rio”.

The scare did not affect the plans for the fight against Nick Diaz on January 31st, in Las Vegas (USA). The Brazilian even guaranteed that neither the back injury nor the serious leg fracture he suffered in December last year will affect his performance in the fight. “I still feel pain in my leg, but I’m going to kick with everything I can. This is my acid test,” he assured.

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