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Anderson Silva, a former UFC middleweight champion and 2023 UFC Hall of Fame inductee, will compete in one final mixed martial arts match.
Since his defeat against Jake Paul in the boxing ring last year, Silva hasn't competed in any combat sports. He'll probably return for at least one more boxing match shortly, though a specific timetable for his return is still unknown.
Since losing to Uriah Hall in October 2020, Silva has not engaged in MMA competition. He lost five of his last six fights inside the Octagon before leaving the UFC, including defeats to Daniel Cormier and Israel Adesanya.
In a recent interview, Silva disclosed that he plans for his upcoming—and possibly final—MMA match to take place in Japan.
“I’m now focused on these two projects and pretty soon we’ll have something nice regarding fighting,” Silva said. “We’re in talks with Japan for a possible last MMA fight in Japan. It makes all the sense. I started my career internationally there, so we probably want to it end there, too. Let’s see if that happens.”
This summer, Silva will join Donald Cerrone, José Aldo, and Jens Pulver in being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. After a spectacular career in the Octagon, he is now considered to be among the best UFC fighters of all time.