Kalyl Silva successfully turned pro on Saturday night, knocking out his opponent Paulo Roberto dos Santos Nascimento in the fourth round of their boxing bout.
Anderson Silva’s days at the very top of the sport may be over, but his legacy lives on not just in the history books but through his sons, who are both working their way up the combat sports ladder right now.
Kalyl and Gabriel Silva are both experienced amateur kickboxing and Muay Thai fighters, and now the 22-year-old Kalyl has turned pro in boxing. He won his first fight this weekend at Boxe Show 3 in Brazil via a 4th round KO of Paulo Roberto dos Santos Nascimento. “The Spider” was right there to celebrate his son’s big victory.
“Pro debut started off with a bang ! 4th round KO,” Kalyl wrote on Instagram, sharing pictures and videos from after the bout. “Thank you to everyone that’s part of this journey with me. Forever thankful. On to the next!!”
“Congratulations, champion pride,” Anderson wrote in the comments. “Strength and honor always.”
One video shows Anderson Silva on his knees in the center of the ring bowing to his son. Kalyl gets down onto the canvas to return the gesture before they hug.
Kalyl Silva came into his pro boxing debut with a 2-1 amateur kickboxing record. This KO at Boxe Show 3 is his first finish since he won his kickboxing debut with a jumping head kick in just 8 seconds.
As for the father, Anderson Silva is coming off a disappointing decision loss in boxing to Jake Paul. While their fight was close in the early rounds, a hard final push by Paul saw the YouTuber turned boxer take the final three rounds of the fight on all judges’ scorecards. He put an exclamation point on his win by knocking Silva down in the 10th round, winning the fight 78-73, 78-73, and 77-74.
Despite being 47 years old, Silva has declared he intends to continue fighting.
“If your dreams are small, your vision will be small, your goals will be limited, your targets will be mediocre, your road will be narrow, your ability to endure storms will be fragile,” he wrote after the Paul loss. “I wish that you are not afraid of life — be afraid of not living it. There is no sky without storms, and no path without setbacks.”
With both of his sons now training by his side, it’s clear that “The Spider” still has a deep love for martial arts in his heart. He’ll continue to train them, and himself, for the foreseeable future.