When Chris Weidman retired from MMA, he claimed it would take a lot for him to return to the sport. And it appears he stood by that claim when MVP approached him for an MMA fight against rival Anderson Silva in the Netflix card on May 6 in Inglewood, California. Although that fight didn’t happen, Weidman says he is still open to the idea. 

“They did [reach out],” Weidman said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “My manager hit me up. They were curious if I had any interest in doing MMA against Anderson, and I told my manager, ‘Yeah, but that has to be even way more money. To get through a training camp and everything. We asked for as much money as possible, and then I haven’t heard anything back.”

After retiring from UFC in early 2025, the former middleweight champion signed with GFL. His reasoning was clear, he wanted money and an opportunity to avenge his loss against Luke Rockhold. However, the promotion imploded, forcing Weidman to put his MMA career behind him. He has also served as a broadcaster for the UFC since his retirement. 

Still, he signed a contract with MVP to fight Silva in a boxing match on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua last year. But when Weidman suffered a torn bicep, forcing him to withdraw. Yet he received an opportunity to face Anderson Silva again when MVP reached out to him for the May 6 Netflix card. Weidman, of course, already holds a couple of wins over Silva. 

In 2013, the pair fought twice, and Weidman scored a second-round knockout win each time. Despite holding two wins over Anderson Silva, ‘The All-American’ says he is open to a third matchup.

“Listen, I’d be down for the right amount of money,” Weidman added later in the interview. “[Anderson and I] have done a lot in our careers and have been through a lot. We’d love to get paid [well] for that. We’ll see what happens. That would be cool. I would be down.”

And his eagerness to face Anderson isn’t just limited to an MMA fight. He would be open to facing Silva in a boxing match as well, rebooking the fight he missed out on because of his injury. After Weidman was forced to withdraw, ‘The Spider’ faced Tyron Woodley instead, scoring a brutal knockout win.

“I would be down. I just haven’t heard anything,” Weidman continued. “It’s been very quiet on that boxing front for me. I haven’t heard a thing. I would be down for that 100%. I’ve got a lot of respect for Anderson. I think he’s an unbelievable boxer. I think he’s a freak of nature. He’s going out there and knocking out Tyron Woodley like that. 

“His whole boxing career has been unbelievable to watch. How old he is and how much he’s gone through in his career? He’s just really a freak of nature. So I would love to give him a shot at redemption against me and maybe surprise some people.”

In the meantime, Anderson Silva has already revealed what he has planned for his future. 

Anderson Silva announced his retirement from MMA

‘The Spider’ has officially closed the door on mixed martial arts. After ending his UFC run with a loss to Uriah Hall, the former champion has shifted his focus toward other pursuits. Speaking to Ariel Helwani back in March, Silva revealed that an offer from MVP didn’t tempt him back. 

“Nakisa invited me to come, to fight MMA or kickboxing. “But because I’m in this process [of becoming a police officer] now to study, to keep my mind working on one thing, I just said, ‘Oh, I can’t this time.’

“But, when I finish the whole thing, probably I have one more or two more fights. Only boxing. I don’t have the mind anymore to train in MMA, it’s too hard for me to go back to train in MMA.”

Considering that, Chris Weidman can kiss goodbye an opportunity to fight Silva in an MMA bout. However, the pair is clearly open to facing each other in a boxing match. Yet, when that might happen is anyone’s guess. 

From the looks of things, Chris Weidman is itching to land a fight against Anderson Silva. Perhaps not to establish his dominance over Silva, but to make more money. But do you think he can repeat history in boxing as well?