‘The Axe Murderer’ Wanderlei Silva books boxing debut against Brazilian bodybuilder Felipe Franco

Wanderlei SilvaFive years removed from his last fight, combat sports legend Wanderlei Silva will step inside the squared circle for a boxing match with Brazilian bodybuilder Felipe Franco. The bout was first announced during a bodybuilding event in Sao Paulo, Brazil before being confirmed by ‘The Axe Murderer’ on social media. The contest will take place […]

Wanderlei Silva

Five years removed from his last fight, combat sports legend Wanderlei Silva will step inside the squared circle for a boxing match with Brazilian bodybuilder Felipe Franco.

The bout was first announced during a bodybuilding event in Sao Paulo, Brazil before being confirmed by ‘The Axe Murderer’ on social media. The contest will take place under the Attack Fight Show banner on November 25 per a report from MMA Fighting.

“After some time away from the rings, I’m back, but this time in a different sport: boxing,” Silva wrote on Instagram page. “And it’s not any fight, my friends. I’ll be facing a great challenge, Felipe Franco, a renowned bodybuilder with strength yet to be known. I’m more than aware that it’s going to be a brutal fight, a battle of determination, strength and strategy.”

“The Axe Murderer” also revealed on social media that his son, Thor Silva, will compete on the card.

Wanderlei Silva Has Gone Toe-to-Toe with MMA’s Biggest Names

Wanderlei Silva last competed under the Bellator MMA banner in 2018, suffering back-to-back losses against Chael Sonnen and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson before walking away from the sport. Despite never capturing UFC gold, Silva is still one of the most revered fighters in the history of the promotion, engaging in memorable wars with some of the sport’s biggest names, including Victor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, and Cung Le. Between two separate runs in the UFC, Wanderlei Silva made a name for himself under the PRIDE FC banner, capturing the promotion’s middleweight championship.

Leaving the cage behind, Silva has stayed busy curating the career of his son, who currently holds a 2-0 amateur MMA record and is 1-0 in amateur kickboxing bouts.

Wanderlei Silva’s opponent will be Felipe Franco, a 37-year-old professional bodybuilder, and politician who will be making his first combat sports appearance.

UFC veteran Wanderlei Silva losses a bundle gambling on football, begs fans to pay his debt

Wanderlei Silva begs fans to help settle gambling debt in Brazil soccer match UFCCombat sports icon Wanderlei Silva is turning to fans for financial help after losing a bundle while betting on a football match. Born in Curitiba, Brazil, the former PRIDE middleweight champion is a fan of local football club Coritiba who played rival Athletico Paranaense in a derby last weekend. Things seemed to start off well […]

Wanderlei Silva begs fans to help settle gambling debt in Brazil soccer match UFC

Combat sports icon Wanderlei Silva is turning to fans for financial help after losing a bundle while betting on a football match.

Born in Curitiba, Brazil, the former PRIDE middleweight champion is a fan of local football club Coritiba who played rival Athletico Paranaense in a derby last weekend. Things seemed to start off well with Coritiba scoring first to take a 1-0 lead. That apparently prompted ‘The Axe Murderer’ to place a series of bets on Coritiba. Unfortunately for Silva, Athletico Paranaense was able to turn the table on its opponent and win the game 3-2.

Wanderlei Silva explains his situation in social media post

A surprised Wanderlei Silva took to social media asking fans for assistance with paying the debts. It’s unclear if Silva is being serious or if the video clip was even intended for public release. In the post, which you can see below, Silva requests money to be sent to his Pix account, a money-transferring app developed by the Brazilian Government, similar to Venmo or CashApp in the United States.

“Greetings, coxa branca (‘Coxa Branca is what a Coritiba supporter is called) nation. Yesterday, in the heat of the moment, I made some bets,” Silva said in the translated clip. “We were winning 1-0, so I made some bets against some atleticanos (fans of Coritiba’s rival team Athletico Paranaense), but since we lost the match, I ended up losing the bets. So I’m sending my Pix here, so that all of us who are coxas brancas, who are so united, can overcome this situation together. You can see my Pix there. Let’s make that deposit to Wand, so we can honor our pendencies. It’s a coxa solidarity Pix. This is the number” (h/t Bloody Elbow)

Wanderlei Silva retired from the sport, last competing under the Bellator banner in 2018. Though most fans remember his UFC run, PRIDE is where ‘The Axe Murderer’ captured his only world championship. During his 22-year run, Silva squared off with some of the biggest names in the history of the sport, including Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, Tito Ortiz, Kazushi Sakuraba, Mirko Cro Cop, ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, Cung Le, and Chael Sonnen.

Wanderlei Silva now manages the career of his son, Thor Silva who, like his father, is a mixed martial artist. Competing as an amateur in his native Brazil, Thor Silva is 2-0 with back-to-back first-round finishes.

Chael Sonnen reveals details of his dislike toward Wanderlei Silva: ‘I couldn’t trust him, I couldn’t let him get close’

Chael Sonnen dislike of Wanderlei Silva I couldn't let him get close UFCMMA legend, Chael Sonnen reveals the one fighter that he truly did not like during his career. Chael Sonnen’s MMA career spanned over two decades and from fighting Forrest Griffin back in 2003 to fighting Fedor Emelianenko in 2019, the 45-year-old fought nothing but the best. Along with his superb grappling, Sonnen was also known […]

Chael Sonnen dislike of Wanderlei Silva I couldn't let him get close UFC

MMA legend, Chael Sonnen reveals the one fighter that he truly did not like during his career.

Chael Sonnen’s MMA career spanned over two decades and from fighting Forrest Griffin back in 2003 to fighting Fedor Emelianenko in 2019, the 45-year-old fought nothing but the best. Along with his superb grappling, Sonnen was also known for his trash talk and managed to get under the skin of many opponents.

However, even though Sonnen was involved in his fair share on intense rivalries, he said there was only one fighter he truly did not like.

“Wanderlei (Silva), that’s not the case anymore, now I like Wanderlei – I wish him well”, Sonnen said on the True Geordie podcast. “Because he frightened me, he was one of those guys I didn’t know if I could trust him I knew when the fight started this guy was vicious. I mean they call him the axe murderer for good reason.

“He as over in pride where they’d kick guys when they were down, stomp on their face, he really had a very vicious style. I didn’t know if I could trust him before the referee said go, so I didn’t know if I could trust him on stage, I didn’t know if I could trust him at press conferences.

Sonnen and Silva coached opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter back in 2014 in which the two would be involved in a couple physical altercations. However, they would not fight until three years later, Sonnen would earn a unanimous decision win in the main event of a Bellator card.

“My fathers thing was not you can defend yourself If as long as he throws the first punch, my fathers thing was don’t ever let them within reach”, Sonnen said. “Don’t ever let them within range, if they’re upset and they’re within an arms distance the fight has now started, so go. That was the thing with Wanderlei, I couldn’t let him get close as soon as he would get in, I couldn’t trust him. That wasn’t fun quite frankly, that was an easy was to go about life for a while.

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Continue Reading Archives: Chael Sonnen Explains Why He’s Not Sorry He Took PEDs (2014) at MMA News.

Paulo Costa Names His Favorite Fighter

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Results For Wanderlei Silva’s Brazil Congressional Bid Announced

The Brazilian congressional elections, featuring candidate and MMA legend Wanderlei Silva, have concluded after a weekend of vote-tallying. Silva ran for a seat in the Brazilian congress in his home state of Paraná in his second attempt at winning poli…

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Continue Reading Results For Wanderlei Silva’s Brazil Congressional Bid Announced at MMA News.