Credit: X
On Saturday, May 18, former NFL star-turned-actor Terry Crews announced to fight former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a boxing match on June 15 in São Paulo, Brazil. After initially accepting to fight the Hollywood actor, the 49-year-old Silva threw a curveball and denied fighting Crews, calling him a close friend, while he claimed to announce his real fight soon.
The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star, Terry Crews, took to his Instagram handle to share a video and said, "Alright, Anderson Silva, I've been training. I'm ready, June 15. I'll see you at fight night in Brazil, y'all. June 15, let's go. Anderson Silva, me, you. Let's make it happen. What? Terry Crews here. Brazil."
Responding to Crews, Silva said on Instagram, "Alright, alright. Terry Crews, June 15. I'm waiting for you. I'm ready, I'll prepare myself for you. June 15 here in Brazil. See you soon my brother."
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However, soon after agreeing to fight Crews, Silva shared another video on Instagram announcing that he will not fight the actor as he is a close friend. Also, Silva stated that he would announce his opponent on Sunday evening. Translated to English, the Brazilian fighter said, "So look, I was expecting the fight to be me and Terry Crews. But it won't be with Terry. Terry is a great friend that I have, a guy that I love very much (and) that I have great affection for.
"Tonight at Fantastico, you will be able to find out who my opponent is ... (It will be) my last fight here in Brazil. I'm also excited to find out who it is. I don't know who it is yet."
Chael Sonnen confirms boxing fight against Anderson Silva
After Spider's announcement, his former UFC rival Chael Sonnen, who lost both his UFC fights against Silva, confirmed that the two fighters will face each other on June 15, but not in the octagon, instead in a boxing ring. The fight is expected to be headlined as Spider's Grand Finale as Sonnen posted a video on his X account and said, "O Anderson, yoo hoo. It's me again. See you on June 15."
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Silva, who featured in 46 MMA bouts and six boxing contests, lost four out of his last five UFC fights and retired from MMA in October 2020. In June 2021, Silva made a switch to boxing and last faced Jake Paul in the boxing ring in October 2022. The Brazilian fighter's boxing record is 3-2 going into the event.
