Assuming the English translation we’ve been given is accurate, it was admittedly a bit jarring to see reports of Anderson Silva’s longtime manager, Ed Soares, casually telling a Brazilian media outlet the middleweight champion “only has around four fights left in his career.”

Yet before we all start weeping over the swan song of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter, it’s important to keep some perspective on exactly what Soares means when he says “four more fights.”

Given that he’s only fought twice each year dating back to 2009, Soares is essentially telling us that Silva plans to carry on through at least 2013, at which point he’ll be pushing 39 and will have a career spanning more than a decade and a half. Put in those terms, it not only seems impossible to expect Silva to soldier on longer, but it would stand as yet another remarkable achievement for him to even make it that far.

Nonetheless, knowing that the Silva camp is already thinking seriously enough about retirement to start throwing around numbers makes every future UFC appearance seem precious. Too precious, frankly, to have them spent fighting the remaining, lesser challengers in the middleweight division.

If Silva only has four fights left, we all know what they should be, in this order: Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones.

Such a lineup of potential superfights is epic enough to make it sound improbable, but anything less would be a disappointment, wouldn’t it? If Silva managed to close out his already legendary career by rolling undefeated through arguably the four biggest challenges of them all, there could be little debate left about his status as the GOAT.

Silva has so dramatically changed the UFC landscape while amassing 14 consecutive wins during five-plus years in the Octagon that it’s difficult to conceive of a 185-pound division without him. But if that time fast approaches, we should at least let him close out his run in a way befitting the most dominant force the UFC has ever known.

Chael Sonnen has closed the book on his loser-leaves-town offer to Anderson Silva, claiming the UFC middleweight champion has not accepted the challenge.

Sonnen stood in the centre of the Octagon at UFC 136 and called out Silva to a title rematch. The American even promised to leave the UFC if the champion could repeat his victory at UFC 117.

Back then Sonnen gave Silva a wrestling lesson for four rounds before falling to a desperate late submission, and he is confident he would complete the job second time around. Saturday saw the Team Quest man give Silva a 24-hour deadline to accept his challenge, but now the proposal - according to Sonnen - is off the table.

"That offer was good when I made it, but it's like any offer, they've got to expire," Sonnen told Jim Rome's radio show. "Apparently, that didn't work.

"I'm doing anything I can to lure him out, and yes, I would have absolutely done that (left the UFC). I'd have done a winner-takes-all, I'd have done any stipulation he wanted.

"All he needed to do was stand up and give me a thumbs up. [If] he wanted to accept that offer, all he needed to do was nod to me, or have one of his handlers come into the back and say 'Anderson accepts.'

"He did the exact opposite. He went to the media and said 'I do not want to fight that guy.' So what can I do? Now I have to come up with a new offer.

"I'll slap Anderson the next time I see him."