Since retiring from mixed martial arts in 2020, Anderson Silva has gone on to build a lucrative boxing career for himself. He beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., knocked Tito Ortiz out cold, and made several million dollars losing to Jake Paul. Now he’s set to return against fellow former UFC champ Tyron Woodley on the undercard to Anthony Joshua vs Jake Paul (Fri. Dec. 19th, 2025).
Silva was originally set to box Chris Weidman in a continuation of their MMA feud, but “The All American” was forced to withdraw
due to a torn bicep. So in comes Woodley, another former Jake Paul opponent … but “The Spider” still hopes to box Weidman in the future.
“[Tyron] is a tough guy. Nobody that gets inside the ring is not tough you know?” he said of Woodley (video via MMA Junkie). “And you need to respect everybody that goes inside the ring. Well, I love my job. I love something about fighting. Doesn’t matter if it’s boxing or kickboxing: a fight is a fight. I love fight. And I believe that after [Tyron Woodley], I’m waiting for Chris Weidman.”
With UFC CEO Dana White getting into boxing, you’d think it might make sense for Silva to link back up with his old boss. But Anderson revealed that he hasn’t spoken to the ‘all business’ White in years and has little interest in leaving Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.
“No, he hasn’t called me, I don’t talk to Dana for a long, long time,” Silva said. “A lot of people talk bad about Dana, but it’s a business. He’s a businessman. He stay in the business for many, many years. It’s tough to say something bad about Dana, something good. Because it’s only about business. It’s numbers. Numbers don’t lie. When you don’t make the same numbers, why I keep you here? Dana, he’s a boss.”
In the end, Silva sounds like he prefers his new bosses.
“I have my plans, and Jake and I and Nakisa [Bidarian] are doing something very special for the fans in the world, the MMA fans,” he concluded.
As for UFC parent company TKO’s attempt to get into boxing?
“I think it’s a different sport,” Silva said. “And I don’t like to talk about that because the people think I’m not respecting Dana or disrespecting somebody. But I believe boxing is a different sport, and it’s a very old sport. And a lot of people in this sport need respect. It’s not about how much money you have to put in for the best fights together, but tradition and respect.”
Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley clash this Friday, December 19th from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on the Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua undercard. The whole event can be watched live on Netflix, and make sure to tune into MMA Mania for all the highlights (and any lowlights) from the event.
