Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former rival Chael Sonnen have agreed to terms on a boxing match set to take place in São Paulo Brazil on June 15th.
Silva, 49, and Sonnen, 47, will square off at the Spaten Fight Night Promotion which will allegedly signal the end of Silva’s combat sports career. The Brazilian legend announced his retirement from the UFC in 2020, but has since been competing professionally as a boxer, going 2-1-1.
“Anderson Silva’s real opponent in his grand finale at Spaten Fight Night: Chael Sonnen!” Spaten Fight Night posted on social media. “We are ready for this historic duel, are you?”
For his part, Sonnen retired from MMA in 2019 following a multi-year run with the UFC which was followed up with 5 bouts in Bellator. While he’s never boxed professionally, Sonnen’s name adds some star power to the card given his extensive history with Silva in the UFC.
Known more as a wrestler than a striker, it remains to be seen how Sonnen’s in ring boxing debut will go. However fans are likely turning in more for the nostalgia than they are to see any kind of a boxing clinic being put on.
Over the course of his illustrious MMA career, Silva fought 11 times in his native country of Brazil. However June 15th will represent the first time he’s been able to fight professionally in his home town of São Paulo.
Photo: Elite Sports Tours. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.