Anderson Silva will enter the ring once again on May 14, 2022 as part of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s undercard.
Mayweather was recently announced as the star attraction at “The Global Titans Fight Series,” which will take place on a helipad atop the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai. The retired 50-0 boxer will once again be competing in an exhibition bout, against Dan Moore.
Silva, 46, is 3-1 as a boxer (combined pro and exhibition), with wins over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz last year. This time out, he’ll be facing Bruno Machado, another former MMA fighter, in an eight-round exhibition bout at 194lbs.
The details of the match-up were recently revealed by MMA Fighting.
A former UFC middleweight champion and one of the all-time greats of the sport, Silva left the promotion following an October 2020 loss to Uriah Hall. The fight marked the third straight defeat suffered by “The Spider,” who ruled as middleweight champion from 2006 to 2013.
While it seemed as if Silva’s career had ended on a sour note, he stormed back into the headlines in 2021 with his split decision win over Chavez Jr., a former WBC middleweight champion.
That led to a knockout of Tito Ortiz in an exhibition bout later in the year, with talk of a fight against Logan or Jake Paul ensuing. With those fights not materializing, we’ll now see Silva vs. Machado in a little over a month’s time.
Machado is a UAE Warriors lightweight champ who captured the belt in 2020 — although his most recent fight, in January 2021, came at a 160lb catchweight. He’s currently riding a six-fight win streak in mixed martial arts.
