Forgive my (continued) ignorance... what is the significance of Anderson Silva asking for a 10 fight contract? Was there ever any chance he'd finish his days as a Mixed Martial Artist under a different banner?

If this is to insinuate that Anderson Silva will have 10 more fights, then huzzah, I am all for it. However I don't see how it makes any real difference if he finished a 5 fight contract, signed another 5 fight contract, and then said I got some more fight left in me, let's do another 5 akin to that Pizza Hut deal to venture deeper into PepsiCo. and do a tour of the Yum! brand franchises.

When Chuck retired was that his last fight on his contract? When Brock announced retirement on a whim was he released of all contractual obligations? What about guys like Matt Serra or Sean Sherk who never really announced retirement, are they just holding out for one more fight in the distant future?

The only time I can recall a big name coming into a fight on "the last fight of his contract" was Matt Hughes. I am not saying there are others who retired after their last contractually obligated fight and called it a day, but this was one instance where it was apparently given some form of significance, significance I cannot really discern from any other former superstar's final fight which wasn't their last contractual obligation. Did BJ Penn get a new contract to fight Rory MacDonald after his brief retirement post-Nick Diaz?

I mean I understand the meaning of a contract, I'm supposed to go to some place and not write inane things about MMA while doing "productive things" for 40 hours a week, so I guess I'm infringing on my contract right now, but that's aside from the point. What purpose is there to giving a guy like Anderson Silva an inordinate amount of fights on a contract when the reality of him fulfilling all 10 of these fights is rather unlikely given injuries, age, god forbid a string of bad losses, etc. I see it showing a willingness of Anderson Silva to co-operate, he won't be using the coveted M-1 Global renegotiation for at least 10 fights... but to us, as fans, what difference does it make?