UFC legend Anderson Silva's transition to professional boxing is making headlines.
Three months after the 46-year-old Silva's upset victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the Brazilian icon returned on Saturday to record a first-round highlight-reel knockout over former UFC champion Tito Ortiz.
The Triller Fight Club pay-per-view co-main event inside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida was not finished. After being backed up into the corner by Ortiz, who was making his pro boxing debut, Silva (3-1, 2 KOs) emerged from behind his high guard to land a right hand that twisted Ortiz's chin and dropped it on the canvas.
Silva partially landed a pair of follow-up right hands as Ortiz was going down. The Huntington Beach, California native, appeared to be shivering from the cold at first and was unable to beat the 10-count before regaining consciousness.
The @SpiderAnderson KO hits different from ringside 👀 #SilvaOrtiz
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) September 12, 2021
(via @OmarESPN) pic.twitter.com/5tUEa9UwgK
After the win, the former UFC middleweight champion said he was not surprised by the result.
"No, I'm working hard for this fight and training hard to show my respect for boxing," Silva said. "I continue to work out daily to show my respect for the martial arts."
Despite ending his UFC career with just one win in his last eight appearances, Silva still has the reflexes and arm speed to be a problem in this current era of celebrity crossover boxing, which has dominated until recently. is - at least in the headlines - by YouTube stars and brothers, Logan and Jake Paul.
The fight against the larger Ortiz was scheduled for a contract weight of 195 pounds, although Ortiz was unable to make the weight limit after coming in at 200. But Silva had an advantage in coming and an edge in experience, given that he competed. A pair of pro boxing fights in 1998 and 2005. Silva relied much more heavily on his hands than Ortiz's wrestling-heavy style during his MMA career.
"Grandmaster Bruce Lee said, 'Be the water,' and that's what I tried to do," Silva said. "I'm going home and training more."
Ortiz, 46, came out early as an attacker but didn't show much power on his shots as he squared off and pressured Silva to the ropes. Silva remained patient and appeared to willingly shelter in the corner, knowing he could fire a counter shot, which eventually produced a knockout just 81 seconds into the fight.