Tyron Woodley Vows to ‘Squish the Spider’ and Knock Out Anderson Silva in December
Two figures who shaped mixed martial arts in the 2010s will step into the boxing ring on December 19 as Tyron Woodley faces Anderson Silva on the undercard of Jake Paul versus Anthony Joshua. The bout marks a significant moment for both former UFC champions, streaming live on Netflix from the Kaseya Center in Miami.
Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva’s December Collision
Woodley, the 43-year-old former welterweight champion, accepted the fight on short notice after Chris Weidman withdrew due to injury. Silva, who turned 50 this year, brings three professional boxing matches to his record after departing the UFC. The two will compete in a six-round cruiserweight bout at 195 pounds. Their careers have taken parallel paths since leaving mixed martial arts, each venturing into the boxing world with mixed results against Jake Paul, an opponent they now share in common.
Woodley framed the matchup as a defining moment in his career progression. “This is definitely a legendary fight,” he explained, speaking to MMA Fighting, describing how defeating Silva would cement his place among fighting greats. “Beating him I feel like puts me in that category of being a legend.”
For Woodley, the fight carries personal weight beyond typical matchups. He grew up watching Silva during the Spider’s UFC championship reign. The short-notice nature of the assignment actually benefited him, as he was already engaged in training when the call came through. This fight represents something different from his earlier boxing ventures, a legacy opportunity rather than another engagement with Paul.
Woodley’s confidence in his knockout power drives much of his fight strategy. He analyzed his two losses to Paul, noting that their first encounter left him absorbing harder shots than in the subsequent knockout.
“I feel like if Jake knocked him down, I can knock him down. I feel like we’ve got even power,” Woodley stated. He walked through his calculus regarding technique and durability: “To be honest, the first time I fought Jake, I got hit with harder punches than I did when I unfortunately succumbed to a knockout in the second fight. If I knock Anderson out and he’s a striker in mixed martial arts – he primarily was a striker, yeah he had a couple submissions, but he was really a striker – if I knock him out, you’ve got to put me in a conversation when you start talking about people that beat greats.”
The matchup carries symmetry given both fighters’ encounters with Paul. Silva’s 2022 unanimous decision loss to Paul came three years before this bout, while Woodley went 0-2 against him in 2021. Despite Silva’s additional boxing experience and advantages on paper, Woodley expressed comfort with the technical and physical gap. “He’s taller. He weighs more. He’s got longer reach. He’s a better boxer. He’s more seasoned. He did better in the boxing crossovers than I did,” Woodley acknowledged. Yet conviction drove him forward: “But I just feel like we’re going to knock him out. Anderson Silva, dog, I’m going to squish a spider. I’m literally pumped up right now.”
Both fighters enter December’s event as products of a generation that redefined combat sports, now competing in boxing’s ring rather than the UFC octagon. Their paths crossed in ways neither anticipated at the height of their powers. The undercard positioning beneath Paul and Joshua adds another layer.
