RIO DE JANEIRO — Wanderlei Silva will face former WBA and WBO world champion Acelino Freitas in a boxing exhibition Saturday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and promises a spectacular performance inside the ring.
The legendary MMA fighter, a former PRIDE champion and UFC Hall of Famer, makes his first walk to a boxing ring at age 49 against Freitas, who replaced Vitor Belfort on a month’s notice in the main event of Spaten Fight Night 2.
“They’re giving away a fat bonus,” Silva said on a recent media day in Brazil. “A very generous bonus for the win and the knockout, almost R$ 500,000 ($94,000), and I want to take that bonus back home. … That’s what I want with this match, to write my name in boxing history with just one match. It will be biggest debut in boxing history, and I’ll knock out the four-time world champion.”
Silva said he wanted to prove Belfort was “lucky” to beat him in 1998, and was “disappointed” to hear “The Phenom” was out of their rematch.
“But I was very happy that they found a worthy replacement — an even better one,” Silva said of 50-year-old Freitas. “‘Popo’ is a much better boxer than my previous opponent, and I’m sure it’s going to be a great combat. Belfort was out of what would be the rematch of the century put they brought ‘Popo’ in, which has boosted the card.”
“I love the fact that he accepted the challenge, it was very brave of him,” he added. “I hope he doesn’t come overconfident because he might get in trouble. Although I’m not a pure boxer, I’ve trained boxing for a long time.”
Silva said he’s been training for this match for six months, but the plan changes a bit now that Freitas, 41-2 as a professional, has replaced Belfort. Silva’s coach Andre Dida said that “The Axe Murderer” can’t be too technical and expect to outbox an experienced boxer like Freitas.
“If we go there trying to exchange information with ‘Popo’, he will obviously win,” Dida told MMA Fighting. “But Wanderlei will follow that old Mike Tyson quote, everybody has a plan until they eat the first punch. He will feel Wanderlei’s hands and understand why he’s the axe. Wanderlei’s aggressiveness breaks any technique.”
“My strategy is to punch him,” Silva said. “I’ll go there to drop him. That’s it. I think he was very brave to accept this fight, and I’m going there to make him kiss the canvas. I’m one of the most aggressive athletes on the planet, and I’m here to drop him him or anyone else.”
Silva announced his retirement in 2022 but kept the door open for boxing matches in the future. Two years later, the former PRIDE champion and UFC title contender wrote a letter in support for the UFC antitrust settlement revealing he was dealing with health issues after decades of training and fighting.
“While fighting for the UFC, I suffered many significant injuries, including concussions,” Silva wrote at the time. “I fear that during my career I have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) and am noticing symptoms common with TBI and CTE including depression, mood swings, and irritability. … I suffer from sleep apnea and have difficulty sleeping and breathing. That I can recall, I have had four surgeries on my nose, 1 on my face, 2 on my left knee, 1 on my right knee and 1 on my elbow.”
A year after the letter became public, Silva enters the ring against one of the most experienced boxers in Brazil history, a man with 34 knockouts in 41 professional wins.
“No [concerns], none,” Silva said. “Because for you do a fight like this you have to do a series of exams, and I’ve done all the exams. I’m doing great, feeling well-prepared, and I’m super excited. I’m very happy to be training. I’ve lost almost 22 pounds, I’m thin, so I’m feeling great. It’s wonderful to be here again. I was already kind of retired, and this show is being so awesome — really, hats off to Spaten for coming to fight [business], to martial arts, and for promoting such a beautiful event.”
Freitas, 50, retired from professional boxing in 2007 but came back to add three more wins between 2012 and 2017. He’s staying active in the influencer boxing world with a handful of victories between 2022 and 2025, most by knockout. Silva, on the other hand, hasn’t competed since a 2018 knockout defeat to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in Bellator. He admits that he had to change a few things in the way he works in the gym to be back in fight shape at his age.
“I’m training a bit smarter, not getting hit that much,” Silva said. “In the past we thought that the more you got hit, the more we could handle, but it’s the opposite. At the same time, I’m training really well. I don’t train with anyone of my age. The oldest guy in the gym is 15 years younger than me. I can keep up with them. It takes time for you to get back to rhythm and train. People at Brazilian TKO, coach Andre Dida, they really have a great training system. It’s on point, and I’m feeling prepared for this fight.”
