Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was victorious over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday night, earning a split decision victory.
It was Silva’s third professional boxing fight and first since 2005 as the 46-year old outworked Chavez Jr. over eight rounds. Despite Silva carving out a fairly clear path for the judges, one judge did score it 77-75 for Chavez Jr. while the other two had the same scores for Silva.
The two were contracted to fight at 182 pounds, although Chavez Jr. missed weight on Friday and gave up $100,000 of his purse after weighing 184.4 pounds.
Silva didn’t reveal any details about what his future holds in boxing. He indicated in the lead-up to this fight that he was done with MMA.
.@SpiderAnderson speaks with @ClaudiaTrejos after his important #boxing victory and the short conversation he shared with @Canelo.#TributeToTheKings
PPV: https://t.co/tVkvlcSxmp pic.twitter.com/4j7ntPdk5e
— FITE (@FiteTV) June 20, 2021
He began his MMA career in 1997 and would win championships for Shooto and Cage Rage before joining the UFC in 2006. In his first fight with the company, he ran through TUF 1 alumni Chris Leben and won the 185-pound championship from Rich Franklin in October that year.
The championship reign was among the biggest in UFC history, lasting close to seven years with Silva defending the title ten times while also winning fights at 205 pounds against James Irvin, Forrest Griffin, and Stephan Bonnar.
He lost the title to Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in July 2013 with an immediate rematch in December that year resulting in Silva shattering his leg.
His final years with the promotion were marred by positive drug tests surrounding his win against Nick Diaz, which was later ruled a no-contest. After the Diaz fight, Silva went 1-5 and concluded his UFC tenure with a TKO loss to Uriah Hall last October.
