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- Silva and Sonnen will meet in a highly anticipated boxing match in Brazil on July 15th, marking the “grand finale” of Silva's remarkable career.
- Sonnen, a three-time UFC title contender, confirmed his involvement in a brief promo, cementing his historic rivalry with Silva since their 2010 showdown.
- Despite their past feud in the Octagon, Silva and Sonnen have grown closer over time, and despite Sonnen's successful mixed martial arts career, he has yet to compete in a fight in Brazil. .
In an announcement at Globo's Fantastico, Spaten Fight Night revealed that Anderson Silva will face Chel Sonnen in a boxing match in Brazil on July 15th. The promotion did not say whether the fight would be a professional or exhibition match, nor did it specify the weight class or number of rounds.
The bout is being touted as the “grand finale” of Silva's illustrious martial arts career, which includes 46 mixed martial arts bouts and six boxing contests. However, Silva has not announced whether he will retire after this fight. His professional boxing record is 3 wins and 2 losses.
In 2021, he had wins over both Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz, but his winning streak came to an end in 2022 when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to the famous Jake Paul.
Born in Sao Paulo in April 1975, Silva has never fought in his homeland, although he has fought more than 10 times in Brazil. His last domestic fight was in May 2019 at UFC 237, when he faced Jared Cannonier, losing by TKO via leg kick.
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Sonnen, 47, announced his participation via social media with a short blurb. “Oh, Anderson, yahoo,” Sonnen said. “It's me again. See you on June 15th.”
Sonnen, a three-time UFC title contender at middleweight and light heavyweight, has a long history with Silva. When Anderson Silva faced Chael Sonnen in 2010, he was on a UFC record 16-fight winning streak. Sonnen, an outspoken challenger from Oregon, entered UFC 117 as a significant underdog.
For most of the fight, Sonnen controlled Silva with takedowns and ground strikes, surprising the mixed martial arts world. However, Silva made a stunning comeback and defended his title with a triangle choke in the final minutes. This iconic bout will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in late June.
Despite a bitter feud inside the Octagon, Silva and Sonnen later became friends.
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Sonnen has amassed a 7-7 record in the UFC during his career, going 2-3 under the Bellator banner with notable wins over Mauricio Rua, Michael Bisping, Quinton Jackson, and Yushin Okami. Sonnen flew to Sao Paulo in 2014 to coach his season on The Ultimate Fighter against Wanderlei Silva, but he has never fought in Brazil.
