Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva trilogy fight nearly landed on Rousey-Carano Netflix card: ‘We asked for as much money as possible’

The mixed martial arts (MMA) world nearly got a trilogy fight between former UFC champions Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva, but Jake Paul’s team never came through with an offer.

Fight fans have long wondered how a third fight between Weidman and Silva might play out. Weidman is already 2-0 against “Spider” under the bright lights of the Octagon, but many considered his first victory a lucky punch and the second fight ended with a nasty leg break. That was over 12 years ago, but fight fans would still love the chance to see the two legends square off one more time.

Little did we know that a trilogy fight between Weidman and Silva was nearly booked for next month’s Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight card on Netflix. Weidman was contacted about the possibility of fighting Silva in a third MMA bout, but Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) never responded with an official offer. Maybe they were scared off by Weidman’s financial needs.

“They did [reach out],” Weidman told 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.”

Weidman, 41, hasn’t competed in MMA since a TKO loss to Eryk Anders back in 2024 (his last fight for UFC). The former UFC middleweight champion was briefly linked to a return for Global Fight League (GFL), but we all know how that turned out.

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