Silva destroys Ortiz with emphatic 1st-round KO

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva put Tito Ortiz to sleep with a huge knockout in the first round of their boxing match Saturday night.

The stoppage came at the 1:21 mark of the Triller Fight Club co-main event in Hollywood, Florida.

Ortiz, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, was aggressive in the early moments of the fight, but Silva used his elite head movement to avoid most of the punches.

With his back against the ropes, Silva landed a hard right hook that wobbled Ortiz before sending him crashing to the canvas with a couple of left hands.

The legendary Brazilian defeated Ortiz three months after picking up an upset victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Mexico. That was his first boxing match since 2005.

Silva decided to pursue a career in boxing after parting ways with the UFC in late 2020 following a knockout loss to Uriah Hall, his third straight defeat in MMA. It's unclear how many more fights the 46-year-old will take before hanging up his gloves for good.

Ortiz, also 46, made his boxing debut against Silva. He's riding a three-fight winning streak in MMA but hasn't stepped into the cage since December 2019.