5 former UFC stars who found success outside of MMA 

#2 Thiago Alves: MMA to Bare Knuckle Boxing

Thiago Alves (left) celebrates his title win at BKFC 18 [Photo credit: @bareknucklefc on Instagram]

Thiago Alves accomplished something in his second Bare Knuckle FC fight that he couldn't do during his 14-years MMA career. 'The Pitbull' claimed gold after putting Uly Diaz down on the canvas thrice in the third round to score the stoppage win. Alves captured the promotion's middleweight title as he moved to 2-0 in his career with BKFC.

#AndNew @ThiagoAlvesATT #BKFC18 on #FITE: https://t.co/ZHjUl2Df79 pic.twitter.com/LZCbBzmR8I

— FITE (@FiteTV) June 27, 2021

The last time Alves fought for a major combat sports title was at UFC 100, twelve years ago. He ran through the welterweight division from 2006 to 2008, besting the likes of Chris Lytle, Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck.

But the Brazilian fell short against MMA legend Georges St-Pierre, who dominated him for five rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory. Since then, Alves has been plagued with inconsistency, moving back and forth from wins and losses.

After back-to-back defeats in 2019, Alves finally left, retiring from MMA. He appears to be enjoying his new-found success at BKFC.

“I’m the king of this s**t. Chin down, shoulders up, and hands in your f***ing face,” Alves said after his championship-winning performance.

#1 Anderson Silva: MMA to Pro-Boxing

Tribute to the Kings - Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva put in an odds-shattering performance in his return to pro-boxing against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at an event dubbed 'Tribute to the Kings'. The former longtime UFC middleweight champion bagged a split decision win (75-77, 77-75, 77-75) after outworking his opponent for eight rounds.

Coming in as a heavy underdog, the MMA icon had not competed in pro-boxing since 2005 prior to his bout with Chavez Jr. The 46-year-old also hadn't won a fight in the UFC since 2017. On his way out of the UFC, the legendary Brazilian suffered back-to-back TKO losses against the middleweight division's up-and-coming contenders.

Vintage. Anderson. Silva.In his return to the boxing ring, The Spider broke out some of the moves that made him an MMA legend 🕷 (via @FiteTV) pic.twitter.com/crZwnUYMFj

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 20, 2021

For those reasons, many believed Silva had no business stepping inside the boxing ring against the former WBC middleweight champion. Then again, 'The Spider' reminded everyone why he's one of the most feared strikers in MMA.

It appears that Silva's return to the squared circle isn't a one-and-done affair. He's expected to fight former world champion Roy Jones Jr. in the near future.