Wanderlei Silva News

Josh Evanoff - July 10, 2023

MMA legend Wanderlei Silva will be making his boxing debut against Felipe Franco in November. ‘The Axe Murderer’ has been out of action for nearly five years, last facing Rampage Jackson. That was the fourth fight between the two, taking place at Bellator 206 in September 2018. There, Wanderlei Silva came up short, losing by second-round knockout moving the series to 2-2.

Harry Kettle - October 11, 2022

UFC fighter Paulo Costa has named mixed martial arts legend Wanderlei Silva as his favourite fighter of all time. Over the course of the last few months, Paulo Costa has seemingly gone from one of the biggest villains in the Ultimate Fighting Championship to one of the biggest heroes – and he’s done so by showing off his incredibly unique personality.

Ryan Harkness - September 26, 2022

Wanderlei Silva’s son Thor Silva made his amateur MMA debut on Sunday at Fight Music Show 2 in Brazil, winning his bout via first round TKO. The 19-year-old showed no hesitation in the cage as he attacked Gabriel Bonfim early, hitting a single-leg takedown and escaping an armbar attempt. He then punished his opponent with relentless ground and pound before securing mount. Bonfim did his best to try and cling to Thor, but couldn’t escape the damage he was taking and gave up his back. The ref stepped in at 2:13 of the first round to wave things off.

Josh Evanoff - September 13, 2022

Wanderlei Silva might be retired from MMA, but he’s not retired from boxing. ‘The Axe Murderer’ has been out of action since his knockout loss to Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson in September 2018. Following that defeat, Silva departed from Bellator. He promptly signed with BKFC the following year.

Adam Martin - September 30, 2021

MMA legend Wanderlei Silva called out fellow Brazilian mixed martial artist Vitor Belfort for a rematch in the boxing ring. Silva and Belfort have never seen eye-to-eye. The pair first met way back at UFC Brazil in October 1998, with Belfort finishing Silva with a first-round knockout. The two then coached TUF Brazil in 2012 and were supposed to fight in a rematch, but the fight was canceled due to injuries. But even a decade later, these two do still not like each other and they continue to take shots at each other whenever they are able to get the chance to.

Tom Taylor - August 31, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort has sent a scathing message to the chief rival of his career, Wanderlei Silva. Over the weekend, Silva shared a poster for a fictional fight card involving himself and Belfort, as well as other legends like Fedor Emelianenko, Tito Ortiz, and Rashad Evans. Belfort, who defeated Silva by first-round knockout way back in 1998 and has been open to a rematch ever since, was not impressed by his rival’s post.

Adam Martin - August 30, 2020

Wanderlei Silva is teasing a massive MMA card that will take place at the Tyson Ranch featuring Fedor Emelianenko and Tito Ortiz, plus more. Silva posted a photo on his social media of a poster for an event called “Fight Club After Dark.” The poster says the event will take place on November 21 at the Tyson Ranch in Desert Hot Springs, California, with the tagline, “Experience live MMA like never before under the stars on the Tyson Ranch.”

Tom Taylor - June 10, 2020

Heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson has reportedly turned down an $18M offer from American bare-knuckle fighting promotion BKFC. The offer reportedly named MMA legend Wanderlei Silva, who recently signed with BKFC but has yet to debut with the promotion, as the opponent for Tyson’s return.

Tom Taylor - June 5, 2020

Former Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva was recently hit by his car while riding his bike, breaking his foot and sustaining some pretty nasty looking wounds. It was the Brazilian MMA legend’s second such accident in a four-year span. He says wearing a helmet save his life on both occasions.

Adam Martin - June 4, 2020

MMA legend Wanderlei Silva was involved in an accident on Wednesday afternoon in Curitiba, Brazil, when he was hit by a car while riding a bicycle. Silva says that he broke his foot and suffered cuts to his face.

Tom Taylor - May 26, 2020

Not long after boxing legend Mike Tyson announced his plans to return to the ring at 53 years of age, he received a lucrative offer from upstart bare-knuckle promotion BKFC—potentially for a fight with MMA legend Wanderlei Silva. “I think a Wanderlei Silva, someone of that nature,” BKFC boss David Feldman told MMA Fighting when discussing potential opponents for Tyson. “No matter how old Silva gets, he’s dangerous, and I think that would be an intriguing matchup. Something like that, but I don’t actually have anything in mind right now.”

Tom Taylor - May 25, 2020

Wanderlei Silva has reportedly been offered $10M for a potential bare-knuckle fight with Mike Tyson—an opportunity he says he accepted “right away.” Tyson, a 53-year-old boxing legend, is plotting a comeback, and is being aggressively courted by upstart bare-knuckle organization BKFC. The promotion is reported to have offered Tyson more than $20M to compete sans gloves, and has named Silva as his potential dance partner (should the boxer accept the offer).

Cole Shelton - December 27, 2019

Vitor Belfort wants to rematch Wanderlei Silva. The two fought back in October of 1998 at UFC Brazil where it was Belfort who won by first round TKO. Since then, Silva became the Pride champion while Belfort won the UFC’s light heavyweight championship and both have gone their own ways.

Cole Shelton - October 23, 2019

David Feldman has recently signed several former UFC and Bellator champions or title contenders to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. He also recently signed former boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi, who stepped into the BKFC ring for a fight against Artem Lobov. Feldman believes it’s crucial to BKFC’s continued success to sign these kinds of big-name fighters — fighters like Wanderlei Silva and Hector Lombard, who recently signed on the dotted line. Luckily, Feldman says fighters are now coming to him and wanting to sign with BKFC, which makes his job much easier.

Adam Martin - October 4, 2019

MMA legend Wanderlei Silva, who recently signed with Bare Knuckle FC, has called out long-time rival Vitor Belfort to a bare-knuckle fight. Speaking to AgFight.com, Silva said he badly wants to get his hands on Belfort.

Chris Taylor - September 27, 2019

Mixed Martial Arts legend Wanderlei Silva is not hanging up the gloves just yet and instead has signed a deal to fight under the Bare Knuckle FC banner. The news comes from FanSided who reported earlier that the now 43-year-old ‘Axe Murderer’ has signed a deal with Bare Knuckle FC.

Tom Taylor - October 1, 2018

Last Saturday night, in the co-main event of Bellator 206, Wanderlei Silva succumbed to a volley of second-round strikes from Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. With this result, the 42-year-old Silva is now on a two-fight skid, having also given up a decision to Chael Sonnen in his Bellator debut. Apparently, however, he’s still got plenty left in the tank. Speaking on Instagram shortly after this fight, Wanderlei Silva explained that, after this exciting but ultimately disappointing fight with Rampage, he’s already looking forward to his next fight. He’s hoping that next fight happens soon, too.

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2018

Bellator 206, which went down in San Jose, California on Saturday night, was among the biggest fight cards the company has ever promoted. As it turns out, this card featured some suitably hefty paydays as well. The biggest earner of the night was former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who pocketed a significant $300,000 for his second-round TKO of his rival Wanderlei Silva. Silva, meanwhile, was the second biggest earner of the night, pocketing $200,000 in defeat.