In an event that almost didn’t happen, UFC legend Anderson Silva and retired boxing great Floyd Mayweather scored huge knockdowns leading to impressive exhibition bout victories in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Initially slated to take place on a rooftop helipad, Mayweather’s Unity Boxing Event was nixed from Dubai within days of the scheduled date. But like they did for the UFC during the COVID-19 pandemic, Abu Dhabi stepped up and gave Mayweather and Silva a venue to hold their respective boxing exhibitions. The fights took place on Saturday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
Floyd Mayweather dominates and drops Don Moore
Mayweather went all eight rounds with his former sparring partner, Don Moore, but dominated nearly the entire fight. He really stepped it up in the final round, sending Moore to a knee with a left hook to the body. Mayweather, however, couldn’t close out the show in his third exhibition bout.
(Video courtesy of Chris Venegas)
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Anderson Silva sends Bruno Machida to the canvas
Like Mayweather, the former UFC middleweight champion had to go the distance with his opponent. But also like the boxing legend, Silva sent Bruno Machida crashing to the canvas en route to an eight-round domination, despite Silva being 47 years of age.
It has been a year-and-a-half since Silva left the octagon in the rearview mirror. He closed out his UFC tenure losing seven of his final 10 bouts. Since then, he has won boxing matches against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Tito Ortiz, in addition to Saturday’s exhibition victory over Machida.
Though Silva’s UFC career didn’t end on the highest of notes, he is still remembered as one of the greatest fighters of all time. He once lorded over the middleweight division, winning numerous post-fight bonuses for Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night, as well as setting several UFC records that will be difficult for anyone to surpass.
(Video courtesy of Chris Venegas)
Anderson Silva, Floyd Mayweather land huge knockdowns in Abu Dhabi