Wanderlei Silva will compete for the first time in more than four years when he makes his boxing debut against Brazilian bodybuilder Felipe Franco.
The fight will take place on November 25 under the Attack Fight Show banner and was formally announced at a bodybuilding event last weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Silva posted footage of a faceoff between the two men on his Instagram, and the Brazilian promised “a brutal clash” in his first foray into the boxing ring.
Franco, a former Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia competitor, will be making his combat sports debut, but fight fans are already well aware of Silva’s legacy as one of the most violent and fearsome fighters to ever compete in MMA.
“The Axe Murderer” first made a name for himself as one of the biggest stars in legendary Japanese promotion PRIDE, where he was a middleweight champion and quickly became a fan-favorite for his ability to brutally finish opponents with strikes.
Silva had made three appearances for the UFC early in his career before joining the promotion again in 2007, at which point the Brazilian already had nearly 40 pro fights under his belt. He never experienced the same success in the UFC as in PRIDE, but he did headline several events and scored a second-round knockout against Brian Stann in 2013 that marked his final bout with the promotion.
The 47-year-old went on to have a brief two-fight stint with Bellator that saw him lose a decision to Chael Sonnen before Quinton “Rampage” Jackson evened their rivalry to 2-2 by finishing the Brazilian in the second round in 2018.
Silva formally announced his retirement from MMA last year shortly before the amateur debut of his son Thor, but now he’ll join a number of other Brazilian MMA legends like Anderson Silva and José Aldo that have decided to test themselves in the boxing ring.
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