The Bellator middleweight champion wants to deliver a cross-promotional superfight for the ages, against former UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. The catch? It’ll take place in the boxing ring, and Gegard Mousasi is pushing for a shot at a man many consider the GOAT of MMA.
Mousasi told The MMA Hour that his output in the next year will far outstrip that of the pandemic-stricken two years just past.
Mousasi Demands Anderson Silva Boxing Match: “Don’t Run Away From Me!”
“Unfortunately I’ve fought twice the last two years. I would have loved to fight more but it’s the pandemic. They’re gonna keep me busy this year. Three times, and I want to fight Anderson Silva in boxing. My managers are gonna push for that fight. You, Anderson, don’t run away from me.”
Mousasi’s record across combat sports is truly impressive. He was a champion at both Strikeforce and Dream, and boasts an undefeated record in the sport of kickboxing. As an amateur, he was 2001 national champion in the Netherlands, and in 2012 considered taking up a spot in the Dutch national boxing side.
In the end, he chose mixed martial arts, riding the wave of the sport’s burgeoning popularity in the early 2010s. Like many mixed martial artists, however, Gegard Mousasi maintains an avid interest in boxing.
Anderson Silva is no slouch in the ring, either. In 2021, Silva entered the boxing ring twice, winning both times. Silva’s striking when he was fighting for the UFC was legendary, and he applied his limber, lithe movement to the ring to earn himself a decision win over former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Even more impressive was Silva’s 82-second knockout win over Tito Ortiz shortly afterward.
Anderson Silva has seemed far more interested in boxing than in a return to MMA lately, perhaps due to the relatively muted fanfare his exit from the UFC garnered at the time. Silva’s stellar career petered out towards the end, something Mousasi is keenly aware of. Anderson Silva’s days in the Octagon are over. With the sweet science, he says, there’s still time.
“Now it’s up to him. I think it’s not very interesting [to fight him in MMA]. In MMA he has lost, but in boxing he’s still winning. I think it’s different and it’s more entertaining.
I threw it out to Scott [Coker] and Showtime. I’ve been pushing for it.” Do you want to see Silva vs Mousasi in the boxing ring? Let us know in the comments.
