Anderson "Spider" Silva (34-10-1) did not suffer a serious injury in UFC 237 and will not require surgery on his right knee, sources close to the fighter told ESPN on Tuesday.
The former middleweight champion was unable to get up after Jared Cannonier (12-4) kicked him inside the knee, and Silva lost by TKO in front of a boisterous crowd in Rio de Janeiro.
Initially, Silva's camp feared their fighter could have torn his ACL. But test results on Monday proved otherwise, and his camp indicated a knee sprain.
Silva, 44, will only need physiotherapy. There is no timetable for his return to the Octagon.
The injury happened in the last seconds of the first round. After the TKO announcement, Silva said in the Octagon interview that he already had an injury to his right leg.
Silva's camp said the fighter was complaining about right leg pain, which got more intense during fight week, and he even considered an injection to relieve the pain.
Despite yet another injury, Silva posted on social media that his career might not be over, particularly with the news that he will not need surgery.
"The saying is one. I'll go until the end, and the more they pressure me, the more I'll want to get to it," Silva posted on his Instagram account.
"He will be back soon," said a member of Silva's camp.
The loss against Cannonier was Silva's sixth in his last eight fights (one victory against Derek Brunson and one no-contest against Nick Diaz). He went undefeated for almost seven years before losing to Chris Weidman in 2013, his first defeat in the Octagon.