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Andreas Hale
MIAMI — In a battle of former UFC champions, Anderson Silva scored a second-round stoppage win over Tyron Woodley on Friday night in a cruiserweight contest scheduled for six rounds on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua at the Kaseya Center.
Silva, 50, blasted Woodley with an uppercut in Round 2 and put him down with a series of punches. Woodley made it back to his feet, but his body language suggested he’d had enough, leading his corner to throw in the towel at the 1:33 mark.
“I just tried to take my time and use my distance,” Silva said. “I’m lucky.”
This was far from luck for Silva.
The longest reigning champion in UFC history at 2,457 days, Silva (4-2, 3 KOs) transitioned to boxing full time in 2021 when he was released from his UFC contract after winning only one of his last nine MMA fights. The Brazilian defeated former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and knocked out Tito Ortiz in 2021 but dropped a unanimous decision to Paul in 2022.
In his first fight in over three years, Silva was originally slated to face Chris Weidman, who ended his legendary championship reign in the UFC. But an arm injury forced Weidman out of the fight, and he was replaced on short notice by Woodley.
Woodley (0-3) was the UFC welterweight champion from 2016 to 2019 but left the promotion when his contract ended in 2021. He ended up facing Paul twice, losing a narrow split decision in August 2021 before being violently knocked out in the rematch four months later.
Woodley was no match for Silva on Friday night and struggled with his opponent’s 5-inch height advantage. Silva patiently waited for Woodley to attack in the first round as boos began to fill the arena due to the lack of action. That all changed in Round 2 when Silva closed the distance, cut an angle and fired the uppercut that rocked Woodley. With Woodley in trouble, Silva bounced combinations off his opponent until he went down to the canvas.
Afterward, Silva said he wants to become a police officer in Beverly Hills, California, where he now resides, but that he is not finished with his boxing career. He said he wants to revisit a fight with a foe he calls the “Venom” to his “Spiderman.”
“Chris Weidman,” Silva responded when asked who he wanted to fight next. “Chris, I know you hurt your arm, and I’m waiting. I’m waiting for you to get better. Let’s go show how the ex-UFC fighters can do a good job in boxing and respect the boxing community. I’m waiting for you.”
In the co-main event, unified women’s junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgardner (17-1, 7 KOs) promised a highlight-reel knockout but had to settle for a knockdown and unanimous decision over Leila Beaudoin (13-2, 2 KOs).
Two judges scored the fight 117-110, with one judge seeing it 118-109 for the champion, who defended her titles in 12 three-minute rounds.
Baumgardner, who recently signed with Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions earlier this year, was the undisputed women’s junior lightweight champion, but she vacated the WBC title in protest of the governing body refusing to sanction a women’s championship fight under men’s rules. She acclimated to the extended length of the fight well, demonstrating superior conditioning and skill.
She showcased excellent footwork and worked behind her jab to establish herself early against her opponent. Beaudoin was weary of the champion’s power in her right hand and did well avoiding it for the most part. By the middle rounds, Baumgardner had a shift in strategy and began drilling the Canadian to the body and finally broke through with a chopping right hand that sent Beaudoin down at the end of Round 7.
Although she was well behind, Beaudoin refused to fold and sprang to life in Round 11, briefly staggering Baumgardner with a pair of counter right hands. But the champion cranked it up another notch in the final round and landed hard combinations to put an exclamation point on her performance.