Anderson Silva fought last month, but he’s wasting no time in returning back to the octagon.
The Spider earned his first victory since 2012 in a controversial unanimous decision over Derek Brunson at UFC 208 and the UFC announced Tuesday Silva will be fighting in June at UFC 212 against Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight bout — less than four months after his last fight.
The four-month turnaround will be the shortest for Silva since 2012 when he fought twice in a span of three months between UFC 148 and UFC 153. The difference, however, is Silva will be 42 years old at the time of the fight and prior to his last win, he was winless in five consecutive bouts.
If the UFC’s record-holder in consecutive wins and title defenses wants another shot at the belt, it’s not going to be easy. Gastelum is only 25 years old and he earned his third straight victory following an impressive knockout victory against Vitor Belfort last week.
In his post-fight interview, Gastelum asked for a fight against Silva and now he’ll have to put his money where his mouth is against an all-time great.
Thumbnail photo via Ed Mulholland/USA TODAY Sports Images
