Jake Paul has found his next opponent – and he’s a martial arts luminary.
The prizefighter-turned YouTuber will face former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a boxing match on October 29 in Phoenix, Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions announced Tuesday. The fight will be fought over eight three-minute rounds at 187 pounds. Silva, 47, is one of the greatest champions in UFC history and holds the record for most consecutive wins of all time in the promotion (16).
“The plan is that I fight at 185 [pounds] going forward and that’s what I wanted in this fight as it was the weight Anderson Silva fought at during his reign as the most dominant UFC champion of all time,” Paul told ESPN. “Anderson’s team asked if we could set the weight at 187.2 pounds, more than I wanted. This level of professionalism and precision is appreciated and of course I agreed to his request.”
1 relatives
Paul was due to fight Tommy Fury at New York’s Madison Square Garden last month, but Fury pulled out because he said travel issues were coming to the United States from England. Fury’s replacement was Hasim Rahman Jr, son of the former heavyweight boxing champion, but that fight was canceled due to weight complications with Rahman.
This will be Paul’s fourth fight against a former UFC fighter. Previously, Paul knocked out Ben Askren, winning 2-0 over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, the most recent fight being a KO win over Woodley in December. Paul hasn’t fought since.
Silva, although well past his prime, has a better resume than Woodley and Askren in MMA and boxing. During his long title reign from 2006 to 2013, he was the top pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world and one of the sport’s most creative knockout artists of all time.
In boxing, Silva is 3-1 as a pro, his best win coming last year over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Silva fought Bruno Machado in a show boxing match in May and looked solid there. He has also defeated former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz in boxing.
“I know that everything in life has a purpose,” Silva said in a statement. “Nothing happens by accident. So I thank God for my health, my family and my team for giving me this opportunity to continue doing what I love most. I believe this will be the biggest fight event of the year and will truly make history in sport forever. See you on October 29th.”
Prominent figures in combat sports, including UFC President Dana White, have criticized Paul’s opponents, and White has even suggested that Paul should fight Silva, which would be more of a “real fight”.
“Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva is the most versatile fighter the world has ever seen,” Paul said in a statement. “Just a year ago he surpassed boxing champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and showed the world why he is often called the greatest fighter of all time. Every expert from MMA to boxing has said that Jake Paul will not fight Anderson Silva. They said Jake Paul was afraid of Anderson Silva and Jake Paul would lose to Anderson Silva. Well, to all the unbelievers – Jake Paul is fighting Anderson Silva. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to share the ring with one of the greatest UFC forwards of all time. On Saturday, October 29th, I will humbly step into the ring, rub shoulders with a living legend and do my best to obliterate ‘The Spider’.”
“Jake Paul continues to take on challenges that other professional fighters at his level of experience and popularity never have,” said Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP, in a statement. “Jake values the platform he has and always strives to provide fans with a compelling product that drives engagement. Anderson Silva is undoubtedly the most exciting forward in UFC history. Those skills have translated into his professional boxing career, and he certainly has the ability to end Jake’s unbeaten streak. It is an honor for Most Valuable Promotions to have one of martial arts GOATs spearhead our event. He’s already a Hall of Famer on our books.”