Anderson Silva To Make UFC Return At ‘UFC 234’ In February
Anderson Silva is finally ready to make his return to the UFC cage after not having fought since February, 2017. ESPN is reporting that a fight between former middleweight champion Anderson Silva and incredibly hot prospect Israel Adesanya will take place at UFC 234.
UFC 234 is scheduled to happen in the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, on February 10, to be broadcast on February 9 in the U.S. market. The main event of the card is a middleweight match between Robert Whittaker (20-4) and Kelvin Gastelum (15-3) for the middleweight championship. Silva vs. Adesanya is scheduled to be the co-main event of the evening. Those are the only two fights announced for the card so far.
The 43-year-old Anderson “The Spider” Silva has a total of 43 professional MMA fights with a record of 34 wins, 8 losses, and 1 no contest. His most recent fight was a unanimous decision win against top-10 contender Derek Brunson. Before that, he lost a fight to Daniel Cormier in the light heavyweight division. Currently, Anderson Silva is not ranked inside the top 15, according to the official UFC rankings.
Silva failed a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency test in October, 2017, but USADA ultimately found that Silva failed the test because of a contaminated dietary supplement, and he was given a one-year suspension.
Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya is a fighter who really made a name for himself in an impressive win against Derek Brunson. He overwhelmed his opponent with a barrage of knees and punches, leading to a TKO. The win shot him up to No. 6 on the UFC middleweight rankings.
Adesanya is undefeated in MMA competition with a 15-0 record and he’s 4-0 inside the UFC cage. He started fighting in the UFC on February 11, 2018, and he’s already picked up four wins with two TKO victories and two decisions.
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"I got 2 birds, ones my middle finger and trust me that's the friendly one." #rapquotes #KidNY #Krump #cuzhealwayskillsthattrack pic.twitter.com/TmdUsyi3K0— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) November 9, 2018
The 29-year-old Adesanya only has 15 professional MMA bouts under his belt, he’s an incredibly experienced fighter with 81 kickboxing matches and seven boxing matches under his belt. He carries an impressive 75-5 record in kickboxing and 6-1 in boxing.
Should the 43-year-old Silva, who will almost certainly be the underdog in this fight, pull out the win, that will put him back in the rankings. With the name value and legacy he carries, we could even see Silva pushed into title contention, especially with the middleweight championship on the line on the same card.
If Adesanya wins, he will almost certainly be in line for a title opportunity with five straight wins, including one against a top-10 fighter in Brunson and a legend in Anderson Silva.
