Chris Weidman always said it would take a lot for him to return to MMA again, and he stood by that proclamation when Most Valuable Promotions came calling to pitch him on the idea of running it back with Anderson Silva for a third time.
After retiring from the UFC in early 2025, the former middleweight champion signed with the GFL for two main reasons — money and a chance to avenge a past loss to Luke Rockhold. When that entire promotion imploded, Weidman effectively put MMA behind him but he did
sign up to do a boxing match against Silva as part of a card Jake Paul was building when he was scheduled to fact Gervonta “Tank” Davis and then Anthony Joshua.
Sadly, Weidman suffered a torn bicep that took him out of the fight but for a brief moment he thought he might get the chance to face Silva for a third time when MVP reached out while building the upcoming Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card on May 16.
“They did [reach out],” Weidman told MMA Fighting. “My manager hit me up. They were curious if I had any interest in doing MMA against Anderson and I told my manager yeah but that has to be even way more money.
“To get through a training camp and everything. We asked for as much money as possible and then I haven’t heard anything back.”
Of course, Weidman holds a pair of wins over Silva in the UFC including his vicious knockout win over the Brazilian legend in 2013 that crowned him middleweight champion. They faced off in a rematch six months later with Silva suffering a gruesome broken leg that ended the fight in the second round.
Despite a 2-0 record against him, Weidman says he’s still open to the idea of a third fight against Silva but it really would have to make financial sense for him to commit to that trilogy.
“Listen, I’d be down for the right amount of money,” Weidman said. “Me and Anderson have done a lot in our careers and have been through a lot. We’d love to get paid good for that. We’ll see what happens. That would be cool. I would be down.”
As far as rebooking the boxing match, Weidman would also be willing to entertain that offer as well because he was already going through a full training camp for that fight when he suffered an injury that forced him off the card.
Silva went onto score a brutal knockout over ex-UFC champion Tyron Woodley instead.
“I would be down. I just haven’t heard anything,” Weidman said. “It’s been very quiet on that boxing front for me. I haven’t heard a thing. I would be down for that 100%. I’ve got a lot of respect for Anderson. I think he’s an unbelievable boxer. I think he’s a freak of nature.
“He’s going out there and knocking out Tyron Woodley like that. His whole boxing career has been unbelievable to watch. How old he is and how much he’s gone through in his career. He’s just really a freak of nature. So I would love to give him a shot at redemption against me and maybe surprise some people.”
As far as missing out on a potential spot on one of the most talked about cards of the year, Weidman has been very impressed by Rousey’s promotion abilities as she prepares for her first fight in a decade following back-to-back losses in the UFC that ended her career.
Carano is actually returning from an even longer layoff with her last appearance in MMA happening all the way back in 2009.
That’s why Weidman admits as impressed as he’s been with the way Rousey has been building the anticipation for her comeback, he just doesn’t see a way that Carano hangs around in that fight.
“Ronda Rousey, her promotional skills, when she decides to turn it on and promotes fights, she’s up there with some of the best promoters there’s been in this game,” Weidman said. “She gets so excited about it. But I have a hard time imagining Gina being able to get through three minutes with Ronda. Carano, she was great during her time but 17 years off of focusing on being an actress, just out of the game that long is tough to go against a girl like Ronda, who’s one of the best martial artists we’ve seen in the women’s division in history. We’ve seen what she does to girls who are a level below her, especially grappling with armbars and everything.
“I can’t see her not getting an armbar pretty damn quick. I remember when she was coming up, all these girls knew they have to defend an armbar and they just couldn’t do it. She’s just on a different level. That’s why it’s like, it’s exciting, two big names, they’re amping it up but I don’t think it’s really a fair fight.”
