Iconic former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will take on one of his most famous foes for a final time next month.
The legendary fighter insists that he won’t be retiring from competition, despite turning 49 last month and taking two years out of the ring. But on June 15 he will have his last fight in his native Brazil in front of a select crowd numbering in the hundreds.
Silva was last out in October of 2022 when he fought Jake Paul in Arizona. He was impressive on the night and was arguably winning the fight until he was dropped and lost a narrow points decision to the YouTube star.
Anderson Silva confirms trilogy fight with Chael Sonnen in the boxing ring
The greatest feud of Silva’s legendary career in the UFC was against the enigmatic American Chael Sonnen, whom he faced in 2010 and 2012. The wrestler used his wit and trash-talking ability to speed through the middleweight rankings and build an intense rivalry that garnered record crowds.
And despite Silva winning both of their meetings by stoppage, the pair are going ahead with a trilogy, 12 years after their last meeting. This time, however, they will box in a five-round professional bout at a weight of 216lb with two-minute rounds.
Silva had initially teased a fight with Hollywood star Terry Crews, with the pair even appearing to verbally agree on social media. But the promotion Spaten Fight Night revealed that it was a publicity stunt, and later named Sonnen as the actual opponent for what is being billed as the legend’s ‘Grande Finale’.
Sonnen dominated Silva in their first meeting at UFC 117, but in the fifth round with seconds left on the clock he was caught in a submission and lost in a bout that was recently entered into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Their rematch was actually being eyed for Brazil, as Sonnen headed to Silva’s home country to film a season of The Ultimate Fighter. But due to safety concerns after his intensive promotional campaign, the bout was moved back to the United States at UFC 148, with Silva winning by KO.
Chael Sonnen’s ring debut comes five years after MMA retirement
Sonnen has never boxed, and was known primarily for his high-level wrestling during his career in the cage. He retired after losing to Lyoto Machida and Fedor Emelianenko in 2019 at the end of a decades-long run that included three efforts at UFC gold in two different weight classes.
‘The Bad Guy’ is close friends with Misfits Boxing promoter Mams Taylor and did entertain brief talks for a fight with Jorge Masvidal in 2021 with Showtime Boxing. But he has otherwise stayed away from the recent trend of former fighters moving into the ring.
But it appears that he will step into the ring to face Silva in Sao Paolo at a private black tie event which will be attended by around 600 invited guests. Sonnen has previously claimed to have considered a career in boxing before taking the wrestling route in college and eventually doing MMA.
Terry Crews vs Anderson Silva teased ahead of UFC legend’s ring return
Over the weekend, it appeared that Silva was going to face television star Terry Crews in what would have been his first boxing match. The pair went back-and-forth on social media, and garnered press worldwide for what would have been a huge crossover bout.
However, it was revealed to all be a publicity stunt put together by Spaten, who later revealed that they were actually putting on Silva vs Sonnen 3. Crews had claimed to be training, and Silva did tell him that they would see each other on June 15, so he may still be involved.
After an initial video teasing Silva’s final fight, Crews shared a post of his own seemingly confirming that he was the opponent. In the video, he says: “Alright, Anderson Silva I’ve been training, I’m ready.
“June 15 I’ll see you at Fight Night in Brazil, y’all. June 15, let’s go, Anderson Silva; me, you, let’s make it happen. What? Terry Crews here, Brazil!” Silva’s response was a simple one, writing in the comments of the viral post: “See you June 15.”