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LIVERPOOL, England – With more than three and a half years gone by since his last fight, even Claudio Silva’s biggest fans – some of his family members – were pushing him to call it quits.

Those who were telling him to hang up the gloves as the calendar marched onward without him in the cage probably are eating their words now. On Sunday, Silva (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) finally returned and pulled off a big upset with a first-round submission of Nordine Taleb (14-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 130.

UFC Fight Night 130 took place at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. It aired on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass. And it was a home fight of sorts for Silva, a Brazilian who also calls London home.

“The last four years have been hell,” Silva said after the fight. “I was coming from two UFC victories, so that fight was supposed to happen four years ago. I broke my foot in 2015, and then in two months’ time, I broke another one. That’s so emotional for me. This comeback means everything to me.

“My family was telling me, ‘Just give up. What are you doing with your life? You have two UFC victories.’ But man, this is everything to me.”

Before his bonus-winning rear-naked choke over Taleb, Silva most recently had fought in front of his home fans in Uberlandia, Brazil, and took a split decision from Leon Edwards way back in November 2014. That win came on the heels of his promotional debut, a unanimous decision over Brad Scott in London in March 2014.

Sunday, with the tap of Taleb, he ran his winning streak to 12 fights – he hasn’t lost since his pro debut in 2007. And it was good old-fashioned jiu-jitsu that got the job done for his first submission in more than seven years.

“If you attack the neck, there’s no way to run away,” Silva said. “He can be strong, he can be whatever, but if he doesn’t tap, he’ll go sleep-sleep. Have sweet dreams.”

With injury problems seemingly behind him, and the momentum of an upset win in his comeback fight, Silva said he wants to take a short breather and then get back to work.

After all, he probably wants to keep proving to anyone who said he should retire that they were wrong.

“I would never give up,” he said. “I would never quit my job. Martial arts is what I breathe. This is my religion. I want to fight more than I want to live. I want to fight more than I want to breathe. I want to take some time off, and then I can’t wait to come back and feel that adrenaline, that feeling again.”

For more from Silva, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 130, check out the UFC Events section of the site.