Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Anderson Silva is not letting criticism pull him down especially after being defeated by Michael Bisping last February at UFC Fight Night 84 in London. 

In that fight, Silva stormed Bisping early and in the third round was close to finishing the bout via a flying knee. But the England native survived, and in the end, managed to capture a unanimous decision victory. 

Speaking to ESPN, Silva lauded Bisping for the win, but was unhappy with the judges. He also discussed critics and how he is not paying attention to them. 

"I really don't watch out for critics of my fights because I'm the one who's going in there and fighting. It's easy for you to watch a fight and say a guy could have done this or that, but watching a fight and then going out there and stepping in is completely different. It takes someone to actually step in there and take a few shots to realize that," the 40-year-old stated through a translator. 

The last time Silva's hand was raised inside the octagon was in October 2012 when he stopped Stephan Bonnar. Following that, he lost two consecutive to Chris Weidman in 2013, before a January 2015 win over Nick Diaz was later ruled a no contest due to drug-related violations. 

Silva has another chance to return on the winning track as he faces budding prospect Uriah Hall this May at UFC 198, which will be held at his home of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil. 

In the interview with ESPN, Silva sounded eager for the matchup, also calling the opportunity to fight in his hometown a "birthday present" as he is turning 41 on April 14. 

A victory over a young rising fighter like Hall will improve Silva's place in the middleweight rankings and again makes him a legitimate title contender.