Anderson Silva's legendary run with the UFC is over, which means he's free to explore the wide world of combat sports. His first event post-UFC will see him return to the boxing ring, where he's set to fight former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday night at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The fight is part of the "Tribute to the Kings" pay-per-view event on FITE.TV. Silva-Chavez Jr. is billed as the co-main event alongside an exhibition match between 58-year-old legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Hector "Little Macho" Camacho Jr. The card begins at 9 p.m. ET. 

MMA Junkie's Danny Segura provided details of the Silva-Chavez Jr. bout, which is going to be a sanctioned boxing match:

According to Bovada (as of Thursday), Silva is a +325 underdog to Chavez Jr., who is listed as -550 favorite. That line is hardly surprising. Chavez Jr. is 52-5-1 in his boxing career with 34 knockouts. He won the WBC world middleweight title in June 2011 and successfully defended it three times. He's had issues in his career, but the squared circle is very much his home turf.

Silva, on the other hand, is 1-1 as a professional boxer. He lost his debut match by stoppage in 1998 and then scored a knockout win over Julio Cesar De Jesus in 2005. That second bout was something of a quick detour, as he was already well on his way toward putting together one of the best MMA careers ever. The expert striker won the UFC middleweight title the next year and wouldn't give it up until Chris Weidman knocked him out in 2013.

That was the beginning of the end for the Brazilian, who wound up winning just one of his last nine matches in UFC. Despite the tough run in his late 30s and early 40s, it doesn't seem to have diminished his love of combat sports. He sees himself doing plenty more fighting after facing Chavez Jr.

"Everything is possible," Silva said, per Segura. "Now I’m just trying to challenge myself. Maybe I fight on the same card my son is fighting kickboxing. Maybe fight jiu-jitsu—GI or no GI. Maybe muay thai. I'm very excited to go to Thailand, and train and fight in Thailand. I don't know. Everything is possible."

For Chavez Jr., the bout against Silva is a chance to inject some life into his waning career. He is coming off a TKO win over Jeyson Minda in November, but the last few years have been difficult for him.

The 35-year-old has lost fights against Andrzej Fonfara, Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs. He also pulled out of a bout against Alfredo Angulo in 2018 and was suspended indefinitely by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in 2019 for failing to provide a drug test. 

According to DAZN.com's Steven Muehlhausen, Chavez Jr. says he's "rededicated" himself to boxing and is "ready to face anyone in the light-heavyweight division." He's getting a golden opportunity for a reset with Silva, who is dangerous but will likely lack polish in the boxing ring.

"I'm expecting a hard fight for the first three or four rounds but after that I think the UFC fighters don't have the [capacity] for making a disciplined fight. That's the difference,” he said, per MMA Fighting's Damon Martin.

If a focused and refreshed Chavez Jr. shows up to Jalisco Stadium on Saturday night, he should be able to get the win. Silva is 11 years older than him, and although he's plenty capable as a striker (as evidenced by 23 knockouts in his MMA career), he might not have the nuances or creativity necessary to trouble an accomplished pro.

Silva can use his frame and five-inch reach advantage (78" to 73", per BoxRec) to try to stymie Chavez Jr., but look for the latter to put together some combinations and counters that give him the edge in the end.

Prediction: Chavez Jr. wins by decision