Anderson Silva Faceplants Tito Ortiz With Brutal First Round KO
Anderson Silva added a second boxing victory to his belt.
Silva knocked Tito Ortiz out cold at 1:21 minutes in the first round, leaving some fans questioning why two 46-year-old former UFC champions got in the ring to begin with.
Still, viewers saw Ortiz over-matched by Silva on the Triller pay-per-view card.
Ortiz had Silva trapped in the corner and threw – what looked like – unthreatening punches. Silva ducked, threw a hard right hand, which shoved Ortiz into the corner instead.
Silva didn’t hold back as he landed two consecutive left punches that sent Ortiz straight to the floor.
💥 @SpiderAnderson KOs Tito Ortiz in the first round! pic.twitter.com/A4836XGyW1
— Fight Network (@fightnet) September 12, 2021
Ortiz has never gone unconscious in his MMA career. He’s lost via TKO, but not quite like Saturday night’s defeat. This was Ortiz’s pro boxing debut.
Anderson Silva knocked out Tito Ortiz.
Tito Ortiz has never been knocked out like this in his entire career. He’s been TKO’d but he’s never gone down like that.
This is Anderson Silva’s first stoppage win since October of 2012.
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) September 12, 2021
The fight was in the cruiserweight division, but was fought at a catchweight since Ortiz was five pounds overweight.
The co-main event was on the undercard of Evander Holyfield versus Vitor Belfort – another former UFC champion; Belfort scored a TKO over Holyfield, which sent him to the ground for a moment.
“I trained hard to show my respect for boxing,” Silva said in his postfight interview. “I continue to work every day to prove my respect for the martial arts and for Wing Chun and for Bruce Lee.