Anthony Pettis expresses interest in fighting Anderson Silva following his recent victory over Roy Jones Jr.: “That was supposed to happen in the UFC”

By Susan Cox - April 5, 2023

Anthony Pettis is expressing interest in fighting Anderson Silva following his recent victory over boxing Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr.

Anthony Pettis

It was at Gamebred Boxing 4, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin last Saturday night, that featured Anthony Pettis’ boxing debut against Roy Jones Jr. in the main event.

The outcome was a majority decision win for the 36 year old Pettis (77-75, 78-74, 76-76).

Anthony Pettis, Roy Jones Jr., Boxing

‘Showtime’ spoke at the post fight press conference and declared his interest in fighting UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the boxing ring (h/t Sportskeeda):

“I’d love to fight Anderson Silva, and that was supposed to happen in the UFC. For me, the weight definitely matters but I (will) pay attention to my coaches. I mean I’m one of the those guys, you – anywhere, anytime, (the ruleset doesn’t matter) – I’m down to fight.”

Continuing, Pettis also said he would like to fight in MMA at welterweight:

“I’m not done with MMA yet, I’ve still got some MMA left in me. I definitely want to move up to 170 pounds. Doing that tournament (PFL lightweight GP) at 155, I just couldn’t be myself. I just weight cut too much, I didn’t feel good in the training camp.”

Anthony Pettis (25-14 MMA), former UFC and WEC champion, departed the UFC in late 2020 after his contract was up and signed with the PFL (Professional Fighters League). Debuting with the PFL in April of 2021 the fighter has had a dismal record of only one win in five fights in the cage.

Anderson Silva (34-11 MMA), former UFC middleweight champion, was released from his contract in November of 2020 after 14 years with the promotion. In his last 9 fights in the Octagon, ‘The Spider’ could only claim 1 victory.

Silva, 47, has his own history in the boxing ring, fighting 5 times with a record of 3 wins and 2 losses, (2 of those wins via KO).

Although the two never fought each other in the UFC, would you like to see Pettis and Silva duke it out in the boxing ring?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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UFC