Triller co-founder Ryan Kavanaugh has told DAZN News that former UFC champions Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz will square off on the Oscar De La Hoya-Vitor Belfort at a 195-pound catchweight on Sept. 11 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It will be an eight-round contest with Silva and Ortiz wearing 10-ounce gloves. MMA Fighting first reported the possibility of the matchup.
Silva (2-1), the former UFC middleweight champion, retired from MMA after losing to Uriah Hall in a UFC Fight Night main event on Halloween. The 46-year-old returned to the boxing ring for the first time in 16 years back in June to defeat former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez via split decision in the latter's home country of Mexico. Speculation had been that Silva would take on social media influencer turned boxer Logan Paul. But, instead, "The Spider" turned his attention to Ortiz.
Ortiz, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, will be making his pro boxing debut. "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" ended his MMA career with victories over Chael Sonnen, Chuck Liddell, and most recently, a dominant first-round submission victory over former WWE champion and current pro wrestling star Alberto El Patron in 2019. On Tuesday, Ortiz teased on Twitter that the bout was official.