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Andreas Hale
MMA legend Anderson Silva will return to a boxing ring against one of his greatest rivals when he faces former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis on Nov. 14 at Kaseya Center in Miami, ESPN learned on Thursday
The boxing match, which will be streamed live on Netflix as the opening fight on the main card, will be contested as a six-round heavyweight bout.
“Anderson and his team approached me immediately after the Jake Paul vs. ‘Tank’ Davis fight was announced and said they would like to be a part of the event and he would like to fight Chris Weidman,” Nakisa Bidarian, Most Valuable Promotions CEO and co-founder, said to ESPN. “Once it was clear that both men wanted it, and wanted it as a professional fight, MVP was 100% in given the history between them, reaching a broader generational consumer base and enhancing the event’s marketability in Brazil.”
The fight will give Silva, 50, the opportunity to avenge his MMA losses to Weidman, though inside a boxing ring. Silva was famously knocked out by Weidman in July 2013, ending his historic 2,457-day reign as UFC middleweight champion. The rematch took place five months later and Silva lost by TKO after suffering a horrific leg break.
“I am super excited to embark on another battle against Chris,” Silva said in a statement. “We have a history and on Friday, November 14th, live only on Netflix, we’re putting another stamp on our chapter together. It will be a spectacle for the fans!”
Weidman, 41, held the UFC middleweight title for 2½ years after beating Silva, making three successful title defenses against Silva, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort before losing to Luke Rockhold in December 2015. After starting his career 13-0, he went 3-9 and dealt with a myriad of injuries, including a leg break of his own in 2021. He announced his retirement from the UFC in January but signed with Global Fight League and was slated to face Rockhold in April. However, the fight never came to fruition as GFL canceled all of their events indefinitely.
The standout collegiate wrestler and grappler will now try his hand in a boxing ring and look to go 3-0 against one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.
“I’m undefeated in boxing and it’s gonna stay that way on Friday, November 14, live on Netflix,” Weidman said in a statement. “I’m the original spider killer.”
Silva has gone 3-2 as a boxer, with a win over former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2021 and a loss to Jake Paul in his most recent outing in 2022. Weidman will be making his pro boxing debut.
“This one is for Brazil…the greatest MMA fighter of all time Anderson Silva makes his return to boxing, in front of the world, against Chris Weidman, the man who ended Andersons’s record-setting championship reign,” Bidarian said. “Both fighters have everything to gain on Friday, November 14 as legends closing out the trilogy chapter of a contentious rivalry, meeting in the ring for the first time following their two iconic clashes in the cage. Unfinished business will finally be settled.”