MMA legend Anderson Silva is set to face Chael Sonnen in a boxing match on July 15 in Brazil. The Spaten Fight Night promotion has not yet revealed whether the fight will be professional or exhibition, nor have they specified the weight class and number of rounds. However, this match is being called the last professional clash of Silva’s iconic combat sports career, which includes 46 MMA bouts and six boxing contests. “The Spider” has not confirmed whether he will retire after the fight.
Silva will fight in his hometown for the first time
Silva’s professional boxing record is 3–2. In 2021, The Spider picked up wins over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz in professional boxing. However, his winning streak was ended by Jake Paul in 2022 with a unanimous decision loss. The upcoming bout against Sonnen is going to be quite exciting, as Silva will be fighting in his hometown for the first time, despite having had more than 10 fights in Brazil. His last bout in the country was in May 2019 at UFC 237 against Jared Cannonier, where he lost via TKO.
Sonnen released a promo on social media
Chael Sonnen confirmed his participation in the historic bout via social media with a brief promo. He said, “Oh Anderson, it’s me again. See you on June 15.”
The 47-year-old is a three-time UFC title contender at middleweight and light heavyweight and has a long history with Silva. The two faced off in 2010 for the first time and at that time, the Brazilian was riding a 16-win streak in the UFC. Sonnen was the assertive challenger and entered the UFC 117 bout as quite an underdog.
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During that fight, Sonnen surprised the MMA world by controlling Silva with takedowns and ground strikes. However, The Spider made a spectacular comeback and retained his title with a triangle choke in the final minute. The two faced off again in 2012 at UFC 148, where Anderson scored a TKO victory over Sonnen.
Throughout his MMA career, Sonnen has compiled a 31-17 record and has notable wins over fighters like Mauricio Rua, Michael Bisping, Quinton Jackson and Yushin Okami. He once flew to Sao Paulo in 2014 to coach a season of The Ultimate Fighter but never competed in Brazil. So June 15 will be the first time for him.
