UFC legend Wanderlei Silva will get a very tough welcome to the boxing ring later this month.
Silva, who is best known for his violent run in Japan’s defunct PRIDE organization, was originally to rematch his old MMA rival Vitor Belfort in a boxing match on Sept. 27 in their native Brazil. However, that plan ultimately fell through after Belfort exited the matchup.
With Belfort out, Silva will now face former boxing world champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas. That’s according to a report from MMA Fighting.
The name Freitas might be unfamiliar to a lot of UFC fans, but make no mistake, the boxer has some impressive accolades. He boasts a 41-2 overall record, with 34 knockouts among his victories. He has also held major titles at featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight. Despite being retired from pro boxing, he has participated in a number of exhibition boxing matches with other celebrities in recent years. He will be a big favorite to beat Silva, despite being the same age as the UFC veteran.
While Silva will be in for a tough fight, he’s got some impressive accolades of his own. Over the course of his Hall of Fame MMA career, which also featured a run in Bellator, he defeated the likes of Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (twice), Ricardo Arona, Keith Jardine, Michael Bisping, Cung Le, and Brian Stann. The win over Stann — a second-round KO in 2013 — was his last win. He closed out his career with losses to Jackson and Chael Sonnen.
After leaving the UFC, Silva made some startling admissions about dealing with symptoms of CTE. Evidently, that will not stop him from competing in this high-risk boxing match with Freitas.
How do you think Wanderlei Silva will do in his boxing debut later this month?