UFC legend Wanderlei Silva will get a very tough welcome to the boxing ring later this month.
Silva, who is best known for his violent run in Japan’s defunct PRIDE organization, was originally to rematch his old MMA rival Vitor Belfort in a boxing match on Sept. 27 in their native Brazil. However, that plan ultimately fell through after Belfort exited the matchup.
With Belfort out, Silva will now face former boxing world champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas. That’s according to a report from MMA Fighting.
The name Freitas might be unfamiliar to a lot of UFC fans, but make no mistake, the boxer has some impressive accolades. He boasts a 41-2 overall record, with 34 knockouts among his victories. He has also held major titles at featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight. Despite being retired from pro boxing, he has participated in a number of exhibition boxing matches with other celebrities in recent years. He will be a big favorite to beat Silva, despite being the same age as the UFC veteran.
While Silva will be in for a tough fight, he’s got some impressive accolades of his own. Over the course of his Hall of Fame MMA career, which also featured a run in Bellator, he defeated the likes of Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (twice), Ricardo Arona, Keith Jardine, Michael Bisping, Cung Le, and Brian Stann. The win over Stann — a second-round KO in 2013 — was his last win. He closed out his career with losses to Jackson and Chael Sonnen.
After leaving the UFC, Silva made some startling admissions about dealing with symptoms of CTE. Evidently, that will not stop him from competing in this high-risk boxing match with Freitas.
Wanderlei Silva was supposed to box Vitor Belfort at Spaten Fight Night 2 later this month (Sept. 27, 2025), but unfortunately, “The Phenom” suffered a grade 3 concussion during training and that fight is being postponed until 2026.
Silva will still compete on the Sao Paulo, Brazil-based card … and against a potentially much tougher opponent.
Indeed, Spaten Fight Night just announced that “The Axe Murderer” will face former Brazilian boxing champion, Acelino “Popo” Freitas, who retired in 2007 with a 40-2 record and 34 knockouts.
Wand gon die?
Nobody gives a shit about fighter/s health, never forget that! smh!
This is AWESOME. And HongKongPhooey is correct… Silva is going to be “treated roughly” by the great Popo Frietas! Used to love watching that guy box!!!
Bet the house on Popo!!!
99% chance he loses, 37% chance he dies in the ring.
Acelino Popó Freitas vs José Pelé landy
SEP 25, 2022
Fight Music Show 2
Curitiba, PR
When was this? I have not seen Pele in forever let alone never knew he could grow hair. ha!
The shot to the back of the head while down was some dirty BS.
I didn’t see much boxing there, just swinging wild by both. Wanderlei cannot do that shit anymore.
#WandWarWagon
That hair!
2022
Jesus. Who was Belfort’s sparring partner?
I was just talking about Freitas yesterday! Me and @buddie was chatting about his fight with corrales!
