Properly, this can be a trilogy bout we weren’t fairly anticipating to see this week.
In response to a report by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting, who cited a Sunday announcement on Globo’s Fantastico, former UFC middleweight rivals Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will sq. off one remaining time — this time underneath boxing guidelines on July 15 in Brazil. As of but, the finer factors of the bout — together with the variety of rounds and if will probably be knowledgeable or exhibition contest — have but to be confirmed.
The information follows swiftly from stories in current days that Silva, who turned 49 final month, was in search of one final outing in a fight sports activities enviornment. The previous longtime UFC 185-pound champion final competed in October 2022 the place he was defeated in an eight-round skilled boxing bout reverse Jake Paul. Silva’s boxing ledger at the moment stands at 3-2, together with wins over former UFC champ Tito Ortiz and boxing world champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Sonnen, who at 47 is 2 years Silva’s junior, will make his skilled boxing debut within the July occasion, which comes a number of years after his remaining bout within the blended martial arts — a June 2019 loss to Lyoto Machida.
Silva and Sonnen mixed for 2 world title matches in a UFC rivalry usually lauded as among the many most intense within the organisation’s historical past. Of their first encounter in August 2010, Silva scored a late fifth-round submission win in a battle that had been largely dominated by the American grappler.
Silva discovered a extra conclusive win — a second spherical TKO — of their rematch just a little underneath two years later.
