An invitation to the most talked-about fight card of the year is a golden ticket for most fighters, but for legendary striker Anderson Silva, the answer was a firm no. Francis Ngannou was the first big name to join Netflix’s Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card. Since then, Nate Diaz and Mike Perry have also joined the card. Despite this, the lineup wasn’t enough to entice former UFC champion Anderson Silva to join in. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Silva revealed why, despite the invite, he chose not to accept it.

“Nakisa invited me to come fight MMA or kickboxing,” Silva told Helwani. “But because I’m in this process [of becoming a cop], I just said, ‘I can’t this time.’ But when I finish the whole thing, I will probably have one more [or] two more fights, only boxing. [I don’t] have a [mindset] anymore to [train in] MMA… It’s too hard for me to [go] back to training MMA.

“Of course, I train in jiu-jitsu every day. I train in boxing two days a week, but MMA, no, not anymore. Not anymore.”

In December last year, ‘The Spider’ knocked out Tyron Woodley in the second round of their boxing match on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul. Immediately afterward, Anderson Silva stunned fans by announcing a career switch, revealing plans to train with the Beverly Hills Police Department in a bid to give back to the community.

That commitment appears to be ongoing, ultimately forcing Silva to turn down the fight offer from MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian. The two sides have collaborated multiple times since Silva transitioned into boxing following his MMA retirement in October 2020. Notably, he faced Jake Paul in 2022, suffering a unanimous decision loss.

As a result, the highly anticipated Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card will proceed without him. The Netflix-exclusive event is set for Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Still, Silva insists he isn’t finished with boxing—leaving the door open for a compelling next fight. But the question is: Who will be his opponent?

Anderson Silva reveals who he wants to fight next

The ‘Spider’ wasn’t sure what he wanted to do next, but he did have two names in his mind for the two fights he claims to have left in him.

“My last two, I think one good fight is with Chris Weidman,” he said when asked who his ideal opponent would be.

The pair fought twice before, when they were in the UFC—UFC 162 and UFC 168. Weidman defeated Silva both times, and the 50-year-old still has revenge on his mind. As for the other opponent Silva wants to face, it’s yet another former opponent.

“I think Hayato Sakurai, maybe,” he added. “I don’t know [if he wants to] fight, but I think that’s two interesting fights for me.”

Unlike Weidman, Hayato Sakurai could not defeat Anderson Silva when they fought back in August 2001. The pair collided on Shooto, a pioneering Japanese MMA organization. Silva won the fight via unanimous decision.

Whether Silva gets these two fights is yet to be seen. However, for now, he appears to be focused on becoming a cop. Who would you want him to fight?