Former UFC champion Anderson Silva returns to the squared circle this evening at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, for a boxing match with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Silva (34-11 MMA) has not competed in combat sports since suffering a TKO loss to Uriah Hall in his final Octagon appearance at UFC Vegas 12 in October of 2020.
With that said, ‘The Spider’ was eager to return to the boxing ring for the first time in nearly sixteen years this evening.
“It’s an amazing sport, boxing is a traditional sport,” Anderson Silva said on Just Scrap Radio. “I’m lucky I have this opportunity to fight in boxing against an amazing name and be on the same card as Julio Cesar Chavez and fight his son. I’m so happy.”
Prior to tonight’s highly anticipated fight with Silva, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. predicted that he would be able to put ‘The Spider’ to sleep.
“I think the knockout is a great possibility in that fight. Because it’s (180lbs), the day of the fight, both will weigh 190 or 200, so it’s a heavyweight fight,” Chavez Jr. said to MMAFighting. “I don’t know how he can take my punches. I feel I can knock him out. I’m not confident in only one punch but breaking him down, go to the body and head and I think I have a lot of possibilities to knockout him.”
Chavez Jr. actually missed weight for tonight’s contest and thus was forced to forfeit $100k of his fight purse to Anderson Silva.
Tonight’s Chavez Jr. vs Silva bout proved to be a fun and entertaining affair. After a bit of a feeling out process in round one, ‘The Spider’ appeared to get his confidence flowing in round two. By the time round three rolled along, Anderson Silva was back to his taunting ways, much to the delight of the fans in attendance. As the bout went on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. appeared to grow increasingly frustrated. This while the former UFC middleweight champion appeared to settle into a groove. After eight rounds of action the bout went to the judges scorecards for decision.
Official Result: Anderson Silva def. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by split decision (77-75, 75-77, 77-75)
Check out the fight highlights below:
The intro for the #MMA legend, @SpiderAnderson.#TributeToTheKings
PPV: https://t.co/cUFR9Hvg9P pic.twitter.com/dNF74CqyLc
— FITE (@FiteTV) June 20, 2021
Round 3 Highlights:
#TributeToTheKings pic.twitter.com/bJIhC4jy5i
— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) June 20, 2021
Round four highlights:
.@SpiderAnderson landing a BEAUTIFUL uppercut in round 4 on Chavez Jr.
How do you have it scored?#TributeToTheKings
PPV: https://t.co/ZUiLgsTmuO pic.twitter.com/wWYQaIVPO7
— FITE (@FiteTV) June 20, 2021
What did you think of Anderson Silva’s performance against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. this evening in Mexico? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!