Wanderlei Silva announces boxing match with Brazilian bodybuilder Felipe Franco

Wanderlei Silva will return to action on Nov. 25 for a boxing match with Brazilian bodybuilder Felipe Franco, it was announced Sunday during a bodybuilding event in Sao Paulo, Brazil. An Attack Fight Show official told MMA Fighting that Silva vs. Franco will be a boxing exhibition.

“The Axe Murderer” announced on his social media that his son, Thor Silva, will also compete on the card. The young Silva holds a 2-0 record in amateur MMA bouts, and 1-0 as an amateur kickboxer.

“After some time away from the rings, I’m back, but this time in a different sport: boxing,” Silva wrote on his 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.”

Check the face-off below.

Silva, a former PRIDE champion with a legendary MMA record of 35-14-1 and one no-contest, last fought in September 2018, losing to Quinton Jackson in Bellator. Silva said in an interview with MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast in 2022 he was “officially retired” from MMA, but left the door open for boxing matches.

Franco, 37, will compete in combat sports for the first time. The bodybuilder and politician weights around 210 pounds.